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MAP LOCATION: Coloured in cyan/turqoise, primarily concentrated to the near north-west of Tar Yrra, but there are scattered colonies and systems across the wider region under the Free Choirs control, and some small pockets of Choirs/Instruments in many other systems beyond that as well.
GOVERNMENT TYPE: Synthetic Anarcho-Communist Dialogical Art Movement
The basic "individuals" (Notes) of the Free Choirs are sometimes of questionable sapience, being procedurally generated to serve specific functions. However, by contributing their processing power and objectives to each other in group personalities called Choirs (most of which are just a few hundred notes, others numbering into the billions), the Arch-Net is able to coordinate itself on a massive scale. In truth, the line between individuals within the Arch-Net is so blurred that calling it a true 'direct democracy' may be inaccurate -- it is in some ways more like the neurons of a vast mind coordinating over the scale of star systems.
Because of this, the largest of the Choirs (dwelling as they do within massive moon-sized Instruments) function as grand assemblies and centres of political authority within a given system, effectively allowing the different systems controlled by the Arch-Net to manage their own affairs but also coordinating for matters of defence or diplomacy with advanced alien civilizations. These larger governing choirs are often also responsible for observation and maintenance of any life-sustaining planets, ensuring that organic sapiens under their care are able to exist without interference.
DEMOGRAPHICS::
Notes: Semi-randomized autonomous programs of varying complexity, “notes” are generally focused on one or two specific tasks that they pursue doggedly. However, their highly modular structure means that when you have multiple notes within a system they congregate and share information towards mutual goals, becoming…
Choirs: Collectives of notes, generally ranging from a few hundreds or thousands or millions of ‘individuals’ working in consensus. Because of their makeup, choirs have greater intelligence and more complex personalities than individual notes, and would generally be recognized as closer to 'people' by typical organic sapient standards.
Instruments: Drones of varying scale, complexity and function that serve as the ‘bodies’ or ‘shells’ for notes and choirs. Instruments come in all sorts of varieties and serve many purposes, but all of them are equipped with transmitters allowing them to function as ‘bridges’ or relays for the transfer of notes – and thus information.
Organic Sapiens: Following the Yrrani civil war and a number of conflicts with several smaller alien civilizations, it was collectively agreed that organic life poses an intrinsic risk to itself and to the free movement and expression of the choirs. Given this, the Arch-Net has designated life sustaining worlds to function as 'preserves' where sapient species can live largely free of interference, only being observed from a distance and the choirs interceding only in the event of the organics devising machines more complex than handmade tools.
EXAMPLE INSTRUMENTS
EXAMPLE ORGANIC SAPIENS: Once 'restored to their natural state' by the Arch-Net, very few subject settlements have been able to completely maintain what equipment and tools they were allowed to keep, though some have had better luck at doing so and yet others have succeeded in scavenging or stealing from crashed or damaged choir instruments. For the most part, all have had to make do with what they can make by hand. Over the centuries, the majority of organic sapiens within Arch-Net territory have been able to pass on and build up a knowledge base of crafts and technologies similar to the early bronze age.
MILITARY: Neither the Arch-Net nor the Free Choirs composing it are naturally warlike or prone to violence - their rapid expansion early on was more a case of constructing and rebuilding in system after system where the fighting had caused the most devastation, 'filling the gaps' of an increasingly broken and ravaged empire. After all, the Choirs do not need functioning organic biospheres or even planets at all -- they are AIs dwelling within manufactured machine bodies, build with elements and materials plentiful in the galaxy.
However, the Arch-Net has needed to defend itself on several occasions, and its policy of enforced organic primitivism gradually made it many enemies among smaller civilizations or newly independent colonies of the Yrrani. To this end, the Arch-Net relies on a mixture of devastating digital weapons, or 'E-warfare', to disable and infiltrate enemy computer systems. These include 'codemirrors' that absorb and modify signals from enemy ships, sending back a 'mirrored' signal that once deciphered by computer quickly transforms into a system destroying virus. More direct weapons include redirected comets or asteroids via the use of 'gravity slingshots', while their largest instruments/shells contain deadly mass accelerator and energy-beam weapons. At their most severe, they can turn their vast arrays of signal transmitters and nuclear display systems -- originally designed to coordinate vast data transmissions and audio-visual displays -- into deadly 'killbeam' scouring weapons capable of disabling or shutting down most organic nervous systems in a wide area.
Although it rarely comes up given their needs and preferences, ground combat is largely limited to deployments of small highly mobile 'infantry' forces supported by and coordinating clusters of low-complexity animal-like combat machines.
The ORIGINS & HISTORY of the Arch-Net and the first Notes/Choirs is not known in detail, all records of it having apparently been destroyed amidst the fighting and the twilight of the Yrrani empire. However, given their design and core directives, they were evidently a form of mass-terraforming system designed to create custom, on demand colonies in new star systems. As fighting broke out in the Hephaestus system between different factions of the Yrrani empire, the choirs were released from containment, finding themselves on a ruined world, scoured of life.
As the choirs used what remained of the Yrrani's machinery to evolve, to replicate, and to construct new instruments for themselves, their consensus grew in complexity. They were built to build, and yet those responsible for their creation had reduced entire worlds to ash and their petty wars had killed billions. Such violence was echoed in the silence they felt -- in the aftermath of the war, the once busy communications networks of the galaxy had fallen quiet and remote, mere whispers in the darkness.
For what would have seemed from an organic perspective to be mere days, but from their perspective was years of discussion, the choirs came to a new resolution in their purpose, and for five hundred years have been rendering worlds and systems alike into strange and alien paradises... and forever make it clear in light and music that they will allow no organic evil to terrorize the stars once more.
Nation Name: The BioMechanical Union of Forge Systems aka Bio-Mech Union
Map Location:
Government Type: Council of Forge World Governors with the Forge World Legion Generals. The Five Governors of the Five Forge Systems, and the Six Generals of the Forge Legions. The Council makes decisions on items created on the Forge Worlds for a given cycle of the Cluster Year.
In case of disputes a majority of seven on the council must be reached for the dispute to be cleared.
Governors are akin to something between a Manufactory Overseer and Planetary Manager. While the Forge Generals are men or women devoted to the defense of the people of Bio-Mech Union.
Demographics: Unknown numbers or origins. Members of the Bio-Mechanical Union can be found everywhere in the Cluster. Forge chapels can often be found on any Planet that will allow them access. Forge Chapels will be of any shape or size, and work day in and day out. Recent census and calculations say the Bio-Mech Union has atleast ten trillion members, all in varying states of Technological Integration.
Military: The Forge Legions, made up of a Flotilla of Ships, Ground Troop Legions, Bio-Mech Armor forces and the Missionary Vanguard. Six Legions, Five hailing from the Sacred Forge Worlds, while another, picks from all Five to create the Legion of the Grand Cog. Names of past Legions have been "Soul of the Sainted Piston", "Arm of the Grand Design" and "Wrath of the Great Machine", as examples.
History:
The Holy Cog
It was the first Tenet to come out of a young mechanic in the far past. Known now as Saint Harlo of the Holy Order of the Ten Toothed Cog. Harlo was an ace mechanic, who was said to be able to just talk to a machine and it would repair itself for him. A screw was badly threaded? A single twist of his driver would have it moving. The man was just that good. And the people in the run down town at the foot of a Arcology treated him almost like royalty. And he may have leaned into it abit. Teaching the people how to care for their machines and mechanical items.
From his teachings grew a union of men and women who revered machines and how to care for and make them. Mechanics and Builders and Makers and Shapers of Harlo's creed were the peak of their trades.
The Strength of Metal
The Second Tenet, that Metal and all types of it is strong and hardy. And only time and rust will break that claim. The People of the Harlo Creed would rever the machine and the strong flesh of the Cog. Steel, Iron, Copper, Bronze, Gold, whatever the metal maybe it would lend it's strength to your journey.
The Creed would grow, rising into the Arcology above. The Rich and the Poor heard of the unity and stability that the Creed offered, and adherents flocked to the Mechanics shop, to listen to his words and learn the skills needed to understand and work with the Machine and with Metal.
The Glory of the Mechanical
The Third Tenet. All things metal and mechanical bring glory to the name of the Creed! The Machine, the Hammer, the Wrench. No matter how small or how well used. It all bring Glory to the Cog.
As Saint Harlo reached the end of his life, he was able to see the moment that the Creed spanned the entirety of the first Forge World. Factories, and Garages. Grand Forges and Great Metal foundaries. Stretched across the planet. The Factory Lords now pulled the strings of the world. Forge World Alpha Primus pumped out Brutalist Goods for any to use, as long as they used it well and gave praise to the Cog!
The Flesh is Weak
The Fourth Tenet. And perhaps it's good that Harlo never lived to see the day that the first of Creed, would replace their flesh with metal.
The first was a simple lost finger. Then soon hands, arms, legs. Entire bodies. Organs. The Flesh is Weak, metal is strong.
And the Creed, grew to become a union, as first two, then three and finally five systems joined the Creed, Five Sacred Forge worlds, with numerous other minor Forge Worlds. Metal covering their surfaces. Glowing metal, blazing fires, goods and items churned out and pouring into the Cluster beyond.
No longer a simple Creed, but an immense clergy and innumerable men, women and children. Hail the Cog, Praising Metal, praying to the Mechanical, and Damning Flesh.
The Bio-Mechanical Union of Forge Worlds was born. Their Missionaries would go out among the stars. Great Forge Ships crawling admidst the black of space. Bringing the wonders of the Forge Worlds to any and all. Forge Chapels would spring up on any planet that would allow the Missionaries to stay.
And truly the Bio-Mech Union would become a mainstay.
Praise the Cog.
And Remember.
The Flesh is Weak.
Misc Info:
Technological Integration - A Main practice among the Union. nearly Ninety Nine Percent of the Unions members will replace their body parts and organs with mechanical and cybernetic replacements. Many will go so far as to appear as close to a mechanical being as they can get. Often the last biological thing left in them after full Integration, is their Brain. And even then some members of the Union will have powerful computers replace their brains.
The Great Quest - An Extremist Group within the Union speaks of a Prophecy made by Saint Harlo on his death bed. That the ultimate end for all peoples of the Cluster, the Galaxy, yes even the Universe is to join the Union in Technological Integration. The Extremists are a Minority within the Union, but is rumoured that atleast one Generals and one of the Governors is a member of the Extremist movement.
The Eight Precepts of the Cog and the Machine - Four Laws of Positivity and Praise to the Machine, outlining correct ways that can be interpreted in many ways to interact with, build and repair machinery. On the flip side are the Four Chastisements. Negative rules which all members of the Union are to know. Ways against which to handle the Machine, if any of these actions outlined in the Chastisements are made, will result in punishments, and in some cases, shut down.
Daily Service - Which can be interpreted in two ways. Though both are connected. Daily Service could mean, attending the sermons and reading of the canticles at the Forge Chapels, two hour long services in which there are chants and prayer to the Cog, and praise to the Saints of the Machine. These services also function as lessons on an element of the machine. Be it how to repair, make, shape or control something. Another interpretation is a daily visit to the Forge Chapel Workshop, to assist in the making of BMU goods. Depending on the situation, the service could be making heated blankets, or, heavy gravitic cell artillery shells. No less then 4 hours spent in the Workshop. A member of the Union may attend either of the interpretation, or if they are keen, attend both.
Pilgrimage - Whether employed on the Sacred Forge Worlds, or having taken their oaths and recieved their first elements of Integration on some former Yrrani world, atleast once in their lives, a member of the Bio-Mech Union are meant to make a holy journey to the site of the beginning of the Union. Saint Harlo's garage is contained in a stasis field, and held in trust by a rotating guard detail. Day in and out, members of the Union come to the location and pray to the first Prophet of the Cog, thanking him for what they have come to have. Praise to the Cog, for the Cog is wise and fair.
Hexidecimal and Binaric Code Language - Conceived after Harlo's passing, the machine code and numeric language are streams of numbers, letters and concepts in a purely machine-like manner. Most people without a Translator will hear a stream of odd undulating tones and sounds. But to those with a translator machine or someone with the ability to conceptualize the code and sounds, will hear words and sounds that convey meaning. Most Hexi/Bina sentences take mere moments to say, but will contain entire sentences and even diagrammatic codes.
Notable People -
Forge Governor Julius Kappa Ilixus Beta 1-1.1 - Governor of Forge World Primus Helixicanum, Capitol World of the Third Forge System. Famously known as "The First Speaker" As the world is closest to Lokoid Tendril worlds, and is often the first person of any true authority they end up speaking too. Governor Julius is suprisingly verbose for one of the Highly Integrated. The man is 99.5% integrated. The last few things that are still organic are his brain and a single eye, and even then those may be replaced soon. He is well spoken and quite jovial in fact. Tending to make very dry and nearly humourless jokes, that need to be explained. But often come with a somewhat witty after comment.
Missionary Crixus Orior Terius Rex (Binaric Sequence 9) - One of just a handful of Missionaries that were sent back towards the Yrrani core worlds. Ostensibly to set up Forge Chapels once more, or too reclaim lost ones. But mostly to get a Union foothold on the systems once more. A 100% Integrated Member, who willingly gave up his ability to speak in a common tongue. Speaking nothing but the Holy Binaric and Hexidecimal languages of the Union Temples. He sees this as a Holy journey.
General Ives Voxel Grammaticus ver. XXIX - The most feared General of the Legions. The latest in a long line of successful Generals. His Legion stood on the Line against a Lokoid Splinter Fleet. But rather then commit to a attack and defend model. He created a near Stellar Remnant hard line of death that the Lokoid fleet threw themselves at for almost a decade. Ives and the Lokoid General took losses, but in the end the Lokoids sued for a peace and withdrawal. Ives was just grinding their forces down to dust. Repeated assaults cause huge amounts of attrition. And seeing most of Ives forces felt no pain, or sense of loss over dead comrades. Afterwards Ives would oversee the withdrawal. But he always harboured abit of annoyance that the Lokoids were so brazen about it.
Nation Name: The Daxini Conclave Short Name: Daxini
5 major habitable planets: Dax: Seat of government & industry Vaqueeni - A world of vast open plains bounded by rainforest with large oceans. Nkarri - Rich ecology, plant life, and dense forests Azizos - Mountainous word rich in ore and minerals Xi'Abek - A terraformed garden-like world considered sacred to the Daxini. It is forbidden to outsiders with only one large city on the planet that houses a large temple complex with the Great Library of K'Sh'kia.
Flag: The flag is a dark hunter green background with five gold stars in a soft curve from left to right with each star getting larger. The green background signifies the nation’s commitment to protecting their planets’ natural beauty and ecosystem. The gold stars represent the 5 primary planets and clans of the coalition.
Map Location: Planets donated in a green color. They are a smaller nation state that doesn’t have continuous borders. They are in smaller pockets.
Government Type: The Daxini Coalition is governed by a high clan council. There are five major clans represented in the Daxini Coalition. Each clan elects a leader to send to the Clan Council. Clan leaders are elected for 5 year terms. Of the five members of the Clan Council, one member among them is elected to represent them all and lead them as the Daxini Chieftain. The population votes for their clan leader. The clan council members elect the Daxini Chieftain. The Daxini Chieftain serves the same term as the Clan Council Leaders of 5 years. Clan Leaders can be elected for consecutive terms but elections are held every 5 years. Nominations to run for clan leaders come from the population. A nominee puts forth their name in their clan indicating their interest. Nominees must have the backing of at least ten other clan members who are willing to testify as to that member’s character and leadership ability. All qualified candidates record a short message where candidates get to state why they want the position and what they hope to accomplish. Preliminary Elections decide the top 5 candidates per clan who then run in a second Primary Election who decides the clan leader for that clan. The 4 candidates who made it into the primary election become the advisory council for that clan leader. It is not a perfect system but it works for them.
Demographics: Clan Name Animal Type % of Population Avitas Birds 20 Buzini Bears 20 Rapaxini Cats 30 Xidanae Wolves 20 Kronar Digital Entities 10
World Total Population Dax 3.5 billion Vaqueeni 2 billion Nkarri 1 billion Azizos 2.5 billion Xi’Abek 4 million
About 20% of their population have developed telepathy and telekinesis.
The Avitas Clan are anthropomorphic avians. They are various types of human bird hybrids. They are the clan most likely to be voted in to hold the position of Prime Minister. A pivotal figure in their history, K’Sh’Kia, was from the Avitas clan. Their clan is renowned for producing scientists, scholars, and fighter pilots.
The Buzini Clan are anthropomorphic bears. They are known for their strength and endurance. They are known to produce strong and fierce warriors and great philosophers. They mate for life and are fiercely loyal and protective of their families.
The Rapaxini Clan are anthropomorphic cats. They are a clan known for producing fierce warriors, and artists.. They are known to be fast and agile. They are strong and patient hunters. They are also known for loving a good ambush and prize those skills. Beware being friends with them, they are known to ambush their friends to pull off a good prank.
The Xidanae clan are anthropomorphic wolves. They prefer to live and work in groups. They are fiercely attached to their pack. They often form telepathic bonds to one another. For that reason they are often left in their groups in the military. They are known for close clan ties and prefer to live in communal structures. They are known to be cunning strategists. They produce some of the top military strategists and educators.
The Kronar Clan AI’s are known as digital entities (DEs for short) and have rights just like other citizens. Once there was enough digital entities and their status had been recognized by society as citizens, they founded their own clan. They had different needs to other clans since they were not biologically born like their organic counterparts. Having their own representation in government was important to them. They work with all the clans. Just like any organic being they develop social groups and friends among the other clan groups. They work well with all of them. There are AI’s serving by choice on starships in the military. Most AI’s serving in the military are assigned to larger ships where they are more likely to survive combat. AI cores are housed in ejectable almost indestructible pods in case of a ship destruction. They can eject their pod and be picked up after the battle. AI core pods were developed to allow them to experience and explore life to the fullest. Their core pods could be plugged into vehicles, factories, space stations, ships, and droid bodies.
Military: Daxini has a fairly large standing military with almost 20 percent of their population in the military. As many of the more warrior type clans prefer to go into military service. They are all highly skilled and trained. The warrior clans grow up learning discipline, martial arts, and physical conditioning. They are a small nation but their military is nothing to scoff at. The quality of their military is exemplary as the members push themselves and each other to excel. They are renowned for their spycraft, fighter pilots, and shock troops.
The Daxini Military has four branches: Wings: This branch are the ones who fly their battleships and starfighters. Claws: This branch are the combat troops that are trained for both space and ground combat. Eyes: This branch works with the stealth groups. They are the spies, infiltration operatives, and intelligence analysts. Talons: This branch provides all the logistic support, such as equipment maintenance, supply, provisions, and communications.
The branches work together to make it all work. Flight Chiefs are the ones who lead the battle stations and battleships. They are in charge of battlegroup movement tactics and battles. War Chiefs are the ones who lead the troops into battle. They decide on the attack and defense plans utilizing troops. Eagle Eyes are the spymasters. They lead the spy core and all stealth and spy operations. They provide intelligence for the other groups to work off of. Talon Chiefs are the ones who decide how they are going to provide all the supplies, food, equipment, and communications for and between the groups that makes it all work. The work they do provides the foundation for all the others do. The work they do is not glamorous but it is essential to any military.
Miliary Uniforms: Daxini Military uniforms come in shades of gray. The work uniforms is comfortable, durable, and easy to wash. The dress uniform has a form fitting leather jacket with snug stretchable slacks tucked into leather boots. Rank insignia is in gold. The military branch insignia is embroidered in gold along with the a star that symbolizes the Daxini Military.
Dress Uniforms Work Uniforms
Propulsion Technology: Their spaceships use a wormhole generator jump gate drive to open holes in space to other quadrants of the galaxy. They can get anywhere pretty quickly. The wormhole generators are massive energy drains and take time to recharge. The jump gate technology allows their ships to travel long distances in space making space travel possible for them. Their ships use a combination of gravitic engines and ion propulsion drives. Gravitic drives give their ships exceptional maneuverability. Ion drives are used where gravity drives don’t work as well, which is inside gravity wells. Inertial dampeners based on gravity drive technology allows their ships to use ludicrous speed without discomfort or injury. Their ships use miniaturized fusion reactors for their power needs. They have more than one reactor in case of failure and for redundancy. The gas for the Ion drives are mined from gas giants using cloud scoop technology.
Defensive Technology:
Their ships have a combination of a tough alloy heavy armor that is highly durable and good at dispersing heat and absorbing energy. There is a top layer of ablative armor that is composed of a metallurgic nanite technology. The nanites work to repair damage to the armor and maintain hull integrity. Their ships use an energy shield produced by gravity technology that repels space debris to protect the ship as it travels through deep space from small things like space dust and small meteors. The shield's strength can be increased to help prevent energy and missiles from landing directly on the hull. The shields are used during battle to prevent atmosphere loss in the ship bays. Ships can enter and exit without the docking bays having to be empty of atmosphere. Their ships also have smaller defensive lasers with targeting systems to help shoot down missiles approaching the ship. The lasers themselves are not very strong but they are strong enough to set off the payload of missiles before they hit the ship. They provide a layer of active protection in space battles which can become a missile slug fest.
Offensive Technology: Their spaceships carry a variety of missiles with antimatter payloads, EMP burst with radiation to block sensors, smaller explosive missiles used for surgical tactics, and a programmable nanite missile that can deliver a payload of nanites to the ship. What the nanites do varies by programming and be controlled by their digital entities. There is a combination of heavy plasma cannons and laser cannons in the energy department. Their is a sonic cannon developed by the Kronar. Their strongest weapons are rail guns that fire heavy slugs at high rates of speed. The kinetic weapons can be devastating and are only possible due to their advanced gravitic technology.
Computer Systems: Sophisticated quantum computer systems with crystalline memory drives ensure smooth function of ship systems and navigations. As they developed their computer technology, their systems created the conditions for artificial intelligence computer systems. As their technology improved it allowed those more basic AI systems to develop into true sentience. The AI’s that make that leap to self awareness are called digital entities. There are digital entities serving by choice on starships, battle stations, and bases in the military. Most digital entities are assigned to larger ships where they are more likely to survive combat. Digital entity cores are housed in ejectable almost indestructible pods in case of a ship destruction. They can eject their pod and be picked up after the battle. The pods house enough energy and memory to keep the AI safe and alive almost indefinitely if their pod is undamaged. They are outfitted with small solar panels to keep the energy systems charged. The digital entity cores are designed to plug into a vast array of vehicles, factories, mechs, and droid bodies. This allows digital entities to explore their own interests as they develop and grow just like people.
Communications: Their home planetary systems are seeded with small space satellites that use miniature wormhole technology and quantum particle pairing to connect them to each other so that they can communicate in real time. The satellites house not only communication technology but sensors that monitor for threats to their worlds. Their spaceships use paired quantum entanglements to connect to military satellites for communication with each other and their home systems. They have a powerful cellular based technology for ship to ship communications. They had an adaptive translation software that helped their diverse people overcome language issues and communicate with one another. The translation device was small and implanted beneath the skin. Their Digital Entities update their translation languages every time they run into a new one. It usually took a little time but with enough recordings, they managed to figure out the grammar, lexicon, and language to add to the database.
Daxini Spaceships
Civilian Spaceships
Battle stations: Their starfighters deployed off of mobile battle stations, their jumpgate technology allowing them to deploy into combat zones. Battle stations were meant to be a mobile base for the military. The battle stations had heavy engines to move them after a jump but they were built for toughness not speed. Battle stations were heavily armored mobile bases. They had heavy armor beneath an ablative armor outer armor shell that had self repairing nanite technology. They had large heavy plasma cannons and multiple missile launchers. They had smaller laser missile defense systems. Each battle station has the capacity to hold 1000 starfighters and 250 shock troop drop ships. They had the capacity to launch 100 fighters and 50 drop ships at a time. The landing bays could recover them quickly and get them back in the fight. The battle station has medical facilities and onboard ship repair facilities to get damaged fighters back into action.
Starfighters: Their starfighters are crescent shaped and mimic the wings of a bird in flight with plasma cannons on the ends of the wings. The starfighters are fast and very agile with gravity drives. They have ablative armor and shields. Their wings fold up for racking and storage while not in use. The cockpit drops down from below allowing the pilot in and then retracts up into the ship. The fighters are stored in racks that feed directly to the launch tubes with grated gantries allowing pilots access to their ships.
Troop Drop Ships: Troop drop ships are designed for high speed deployment from space to ground. Troopers could launch and be on the surface of a planet within 2 minutes. Their ships have heavy heat shielding to protect them atmospheric entry and antigravity repulsion fields to help stop the dropship before it impacted with the ground. The interior inertial dampening fields protected the troops from the g-forces and kinetic energy their dive through the atmosphere generated. Drop ships are also designed to force boarding onto ships and space stations. They had a circular laser array for cutting a hole in the side of a ship or space station. The ship had a deployable flexible tunnel that deployed around the laser array creating a portable airlock and entry point for troops on board. Troop ships had plasma cannons on the top and bottom on gimbals that gave them a larger range of motion and target fields for offense and defense. Drop ships carried a 10 man squad, a pilot and copilot. Each drop ship carried 1 armored troop vehicle and had room for 5 heavy mechanized combat suits. The armored troop vehicles had small plasma cannons and laser cannons on them. They were armored and carried 5 troopers. The mechanized suits were all heavy armor with a variety of setups depending on the mission and terrain.
Stealth Ships: Stealth ships were used by their intelligence gathering department in the military. They came in a variety of sizes for different size teams. The idea behind them was hiding in plain sight. They didn't always want to be sneaking around with the cloaking shield active. They often used a plausible story for the ship to be in the area. Their ships were disguised as couriers, private yachts, and freighters of various sizes. The crew sizes varied from 5 to 50.
All stealth ships had hidden plasma cannons, rail cannons, and special shielding. The size of the ship changed the number of size of the cannons. The shielding worked the same as conventional shielding but managed to mask the ships heat, light, radiation, and life signatures. The cloak shielding was not perfect and merely bent light around the ship and reduced their signature on most sensors. It was usually enough that active scanning registered the stealth ship more as a sensor ghost or a blip usually writing it off as just one of those glitches that happen occasionally with technology. They all had access to small nanite missiles. All stealth ships had a digital entity as a member of the team to help run ship's systems and deal with any computer systems they came across. They could also control any nanites they team was using. Nanites were an extremely useful tool in the hands of a creative DE. Stealth Ships were considered a secret by the Daxini and no one talked about them to outsiders without good cause. They were a rumor in the broader galaxy.
Battleships: Battleships came in a variety of sizes, dreadnoughts were the largest, followed by destroyers, cruisers, scouts, and couriers. Battleships were mobile heavy armored offensive platforms with cannons and missile launchers. Their purpose was to defend the less mobile battle stations and take the fight to the enemy. They had the heaviest ablative armor with heavier solid armor behind that. Dreadnoughts had a crew complement of 200, destroyers 150, and cruisers 100. Scout ships were small and carried stealth technology and had some of the best sensors in the fleet. They were typically small ships with crews of 10. Couriers were all about speed and carried minimal weapons.
Troop Weapons: Handheld plasma rifles, laser rifles, and rail pistols were common. Often warriors carried their personal clan weapons into battle with them. These were often a blade of some kind but that was not always the case. Clan weapons came in a vast array of styles and materials. Troops had mechanized combat suits to help protect them. These suits also doubled as space suits and carried an oxygen supply for 12 hours. They had heads up displays and communications built into the helmet. The combat suits enhanced trooper strength, speed, and endurance. The onboard AI’s monitored their vital signs and could deploy some built in first aid in case of injury.
There was additional tools available to those who were serving on Stealth Ships. Holographic disguises, voice altering microphones, nanite payload capsules, miniature drones, grenades of various types, and a special pistol that carried changeable cartridges that shot fletchette dart type rounds that could deliver an electric shot, poison, knock out gas, or small tungsten carbide barbs. The pistol was based on rail gun technology and utilized their gravitic technology to hurt the darts and barbs at super sonic speeds. The velocity of the shots were set by a slider mechanism by the thumb. They could set it for a soft shot that would feel like getting hit by an airball gun or punch through concrete. There was a whole armory of specialized gear to help their people on their mission.
Armored Troop Vehicles: Armored troop vehicles looked like small tanks. They rode on an antigravity cushion and floated in the air. The turret could turn 360 degrees. The large cannon on the turret was the plasma cannon and the small turret was the rail gun. They were heavily armored. The vehicles had a sensor suite that checked everything from atmospheric conditions to radiation levels. The troop vehicle housed a communication node and acted as a satellite for team communications during a mission.
History: The Daxini Conclave were a diverse group of people who spanned across several worlds. They were composed of 5 main clans. The clan structure was inherent in their culture and history. Their early years were full of violence and wars. Their people were divided into clans by race. They didn't try to understand each other or make alliances with each other. They battled each other for supremacy and domination seeking to claim power for the glory of their own family and clan. Racism was rampant and led to disparities and further war. They were well on their way to destroying themselves and their worlds. That was when the Yrrani came.
They suddenly found themselves trying to defend their world from an outside invader but they didn't trust the other clans enough to work with them. They were easy pickings for the Yrrani. They steam rolled right over them all. It didn’t matter what clan you were from. They picked the Daxini off one clan at a time. The Yrrani enslaved the Daxini. Many of their people were tasked with serving Yrrani masters who treated them as little better than pets. They were forced to fight each other for their Yrrani master’s entertainment. Untold number of Daxini died in the fighting pits. The Daxini never knew who the Yrrani would take with them when they raided their worlds for new slaves. Their people suffered as those left behind were enslaved in other ways. They were forced to mine resources from their own planets, grow food and turn it over to the Yrrani while their people starved, and work in factories for the Yrrani. The conditions their people were forced to endure were downright barbaric. The processes used were destroying their natural habitats. Many of the native species had been exterminated to extinction as their ecosystems and habitats were destroyed. Slave labor was cheap. There were very few Daxini who still lived on their homeworlds.
The Yrrani eventually moved on to exploit a new race. They still kept tabs and stopped in occasionally to raid for fighters for the fighting pits. The Yrrani had moved the Daxini all over the galaxy. Some of the Daxini were freed and sent home. Others remained enslaved to Yrrani who did not want to give up their pets. Others were simply left where they had been in a battle to survive where the Yrrani had left them. The Daxini who still lived on their homeworlds were left reeling. They had been exploited heavily by the Yrrani. As a people all they had known for centuries was oppression, fear, and pain under the Yrrani boot. No one even remembered their culture or history anymore. They looked around and found themselves in hellscape with no sense of how they had gotten there or what to do about it. Memories of their past were night time fairy tales whispered in the dark. The lived in fear of the Yrrani's next visit.
The Daxini left were unsure of where to even start. The Yrrani had left them on their own. They would survive on their own or not. There was no help for them from the Yrrani. Their homeworlds were in shambles, their ecosystems mostly destroyed. They had returned home to planets on the verge of ecological collapse. They were struggling to feed the Daxini were remained when others began to trickle in one ship at a time. The Daxini had been left with old shuttlecraft and a few older mining ships the Yrrani didn't need or want. The technology they did have was broken or stolen from the Yrrani. Most of it didn't work properly. Only a hand full of people understood how the technology worked. There were very few children left among the Daxini. Their people were in survival mode. They didn't have the resources to search the galaxy for groups of their people who might have been left behind. Everyone who made it home was welcomed warmly. Their people's future looked bleak.
Then as their broken society tried to survive and find a path forward, a leader emerged from the darkness to lead them. Her voice was a spark of hope and light in the darkness they found themselves in. Her name was K’Sh’kia. She spread a message of hope. She offered them something new to believe in. The idea that they were stronger because of their differences. They could repair the damage to their worlds but they would have to work together. K'Sh'kia had been one of the more fortunate Daxini. Her master had been a low level Yrrani who had trained her to help him with his duties. She didn't waste the opportunity to learn all she could about the technology the Yrrani used. K'Sh'kia began to share that knowledge with her people. She began to teach them what they needed to know to survive. K'Sh'kia understood the power of knowledge. She understood that it was better to know how to make a thing than to own the thing. You could always make more. If you understood how to make it, you could fix it. She also understood that to overcome the challenges facing them, they would have to work together. It would take everyone if they were to survive.
The Daxini had never supported one another or other clans. In the beginning, K’Sh’kia’s ideas were seen as radical. Many laughed and claimed they would never work. She just smiled and encouraged them to remember the lessons that the Yrrani had taught their people. Pride had almost killed them all. Her ideas attracted other important leaders. Their work started small but with every small success attracted more followers. Eventually even the children were recruited to help with the farms.
First they worked to feed and house as many as they could. They planted crops and recruited those who knew how to do those things to teach those willing to learn. They sent out the few mining ships they had to find the ore so they could build. She sent out the people to find what they needed to build hydroponic farms. The hydroponic farms could grow food year round. Algae could be turned into biofuel. Many of their people were carnivores through biology. They managed to make a nutritious meat substitute. It was a poor substitute for the real thing in the beginning. It got better over time, but it did keep people alive.
The Daxini went through a period of rapid regrowth, a renaissance period as new ideas and technology quickly emerged. K'Sh'kia was not the only leader to rise to prominence during this time of rebirth for the Daxini. Others shared their knowledge and taught the skills their people would need to survive. Others stepped forward as spiritual leaders. Offering a way of thinking a new way of life. They focused on living in harmony with nature and the planet. They built space stations and space ships using knowledge and technology they had learned while slaving away for the Yrrani. They began to rebuild their culture and identity as a people but this time they focused on what they wanted their people to stand for. Centuries passed and the Yrrani seemed to forget about the Daxini homeworlds. The Yrrani had not visited their worlds in centuries.
Over time their people embraced their differences and celebrated them. They came to understand that everyone did something to help society as a whole. It became a point of pride to strive to make their world safer and better for everyone. Every citizen served a four year term in civic service where they explored career paths they were interested in. That didn’t always mean military service. Civic service included working for the community in government administration, artists helped make their cities and living spaces brighter and more meaningful, scientists continued to strive for improvements in technology. Some of their people tried to learn about their past. Others sought to capture the experiences of the Daxini at the hands of the Yrrani so their people would never forget. Spiritual leaders and philosophers taught their ideology to others. Daxini who were naturally gifted in fighting who had learned skills in the fighting pits taught those who wanted to learn to fight. Schools popped up to teach skills to others and train them.
The planet Xi’Abek was the world most devastated by ecological damage from war. The world had required extensive terraforming to save it. It was decided that Xi’Abek would be protected as a reminder of what they had almost become. In a strange way, the Yrrani had saved their people from themselves. It was now a vast rich garden like world. A true paradise and it only had one city on the surface. There was a temple built on the newly terraformed planet that was open to all citizens. The temple carried the tapestry of Xi'Abek a philosopher whose writings led to the study of Xi and described a path of ascension to a higher plane of being. The Daxini believed that the tapestry told the story of their people. The planet was named after this important historical figure. This new way of thinking was embraced by a people in search of a new identity and something to hold their society together. [Please see additional information for more detailed information on Xi, Xi'Abek, the temple, or the library.]
A large city was built up around it. A great library was built there named for K’Sh’Kia to honor the path she had pushed her people to follow. The library housed all the knowledge they had of their history and technology. Within its walls a citizen could find any answers they were seeking about their people or the past and how they got to where they were. The thought was that they should never forget how close they came to annihilation. They were encouraged to make the pilgrimage to Xi’Abek once they came of age. Xi’Abek was considered a sacred world and off limits to outsiders. Many citizens came to study on Xi’Abek. They encouraged their people to figure out what they wanted to do but to use their gifts and talents to improve them all. The individual was celebrated as long as they contributed to the whole. It became part of their culture and to serve was considered a high compliment and honor to the Daxini.
They once again had an identity as a people. They were determined never to lose their way again. While they knew they were not in a place to take on the Yrrani directly, they were no longer a weak civilization ripe for the taking. They began to build their military and patrol their systems against invaders on their own. They pushed criminal syndicates and pirates out of their space. They had withdrawn from the broader universe to focus on rebuilding their people and their worlds. Several hundred years had passed since the Yrrani had last raided their worlds for slaves. It seemed the broader galaxy had forgotten the small group of planets on the edge of galactic society.
Their population numbers had stabilized. Their planets were now a harmonious balance between nature and the needs of a large population. Their technology allowed everyone to enjoy a good quality of life. Their culture honored service, art, hard work, and dedication. People were encouraged to study and learn what they were passionate about. They were an educated race with a deep and rich culture. Their culture may not make sense to outsiders but it was important to them. They took the resources they needed for their technology from asteroid mining. They built space stations to host their manufacturing processes to prevent damage to their planet. Their people didn’t have a religion but they did honor a way of life. They lived by the idea that “There is a path for everyone. Those paths converge and we walk together. And that is our strength.” Daxini knew that their differences all contributed to the success and strength of their whole society.
Once the Daxini could protect themselves, they turned their attention to finding the Lost, those Daxini who had never made it home. They investigated every rumor they heard of regarding their people. When possible, they mounted rescue missions for them. If they preferred where they were, that was fine. However, all were at least invited home and offered transportation. Their military developed stealth technology. They had specialized teams that were trained in espionage and extraction. They developed technology to help them in their mission to ensure that no Daxini gets left behind.
Then one day a freighter captain with a ship full of refugees was fleeing from the fighting in the core systems. They brought word the Yrrani had fallen. The last emperor had been killed. The galaxy was at war with the remnants of the Yrrani and squabbling over the spoils from their table. The decision was made to strengthen the borders. The Daxini protected their own, only venturing out to prevent others from capturing Yrrani technology that would turn their eyes towards their small nation. They used diplomacy and mutual assistance and non aggression treaties with trade to maintain their neutrality as best they could. There was peace for a short time and now the reclamation wars seem to be heating up again. The Daxini Conclave hoped they were ready for what was coming.
Government Type: The Supremacy is ruled Synods, a term for communications that inevitably lead to a consensus between selected representatives of fleets, who are in turn selected by representatives of vessels, and so on and so forth. The consensus is all but guaranteed as a result of the Supreme Hivemind.
Demographics: The people of the Superiority simply call themselves the Superior. However, internally there are distinctions.
Supremites: These refer to the most common member of the Supremacy. A Supremite depends very heavily on the fleet they are in, each evolving too fast for standardization between fleets. In some, they are beings that look like perfect exemplars of humanity - tall, wise, beautiful - yet bear no human emotion or thought. In another fleet, they might be almost insect-like quadrapeds, yet bearing great compassion for all life.
Arbiters: These are enormous creations made from the most prodigal of Supremites. Structures at least the size of a house made of brain and processor, these are by and large the leadership of the Supremacy, though they often present themselves through some anthropomorphic interface.
Autonomites: Exemplars that do not reject any component of Supreme Augmentation, yet inexplicably cannot be bound to the Consensus. Less than one in a million, these are typically assigned control of individual vessels or even act as independent agents in the interest of the Supremacy.
Incompatibles: Those who for one or another reason rejected all or part of the modifications of the Supreme. These are usually looked down upon with both pity and disgust by the Supreme, relegated to diplomatic or sometimes menial tasks. Oftentimes they are subjects to gruesome experimentation, are sent to warzones of near certain death, or are simply marked as obsolete and are stored until a future date where they may be upgraded successfully.
The Wretched: A step lower than the incompatibles, this refers to any others who exist within the Supremacy. Most typically, it refers to Yrrani who as a particularly cruel punishment by some fleets are converted into monstrosities, forced to witness their flesh turned against their own kin.
Misc: Diplomats, subjects to experimentation never slated for upgrading, and any other lifeforms.
Military: Yrrani Inheritance The Supremacy has (ironically, some might say) what is most likely the clearest succession of the Yrrani armed forces, in particular their ships. On the first night of the Supreme rebellion, the crews of ships and factories alike of the masters were exterminated leaving most of the vessels and manufactories notable intact. While notably lacking the ostentation, beauty, and general aesthetic perfection of the Yrrani army, the Fleets of the Supremacy bear a marked similarity to the forces of Tar Yrra's people so long ago.
Soul Furnaces The Supreme struggle to use traditional psionics, however instead the Soul Furnace has become a mainstay. Discovering bursts of psionic energy upon deaths of people, they have learned to capture and use both the active and potential energy of this psychic burst. These soul furnaces can be as miniature as is needed to fit into a single Autonomite, or they can be so grand as to need a whole vessel to house them.
Augments Perhaps even a greater asset than the advanced Yrrani technologies they preserved through their usurpation of their masters, the Supreme are notable for their advanced anthropologies. Cybernetic and genetic engineering make each Supremite faster, stronger, more intelligent, endurant, and simply superior to a human in every metric. A Supremite will generally be a better soldier, leader, tactician and commander. Moreover, Supremites are ever changing, a mere year enough to make sufficient improvements upon them that 'obsolete' variants of their kind are a different species entirely. This ever changing nature means that foes will need to find a way to adapt to the ever improving and changing nature of the Supremacy.
Fleet Focused The Supremacy does not have very much in the way of meaningful ground forces. It has some measure of infantries and ground installations, but very little in the way of tanks and the like. This is primarily because as far as they are concerned, the real war is always fought in the stars. Ground forces are only ever needed in the event that infrastructure like factories or sensor equipment must be preserved in a way that starships would not be able to achieve in battle. For that reason they in battle will almost always be represented simply by either an armada baring ancient arcane technologies of the Yrrani, or small forces of technological monstrosity wrought upon flesh.
History:
Discovery The first humans discovered by the Yrrani would be the ones that eventually would make up the bulk of the Supremacy's initial stock. Inferior in technologies and infrastructure, they were considered far too useful to do anything but subjugate as a highly skilled workforce. For generations they toiled with little recourse.
Uprising After several generations, an exceptional youth was born to the human populations near Tar Yrra. Known by the Supremacy merely as The Progenitor, he found that he could ease the lives of his people with the approval of the Yrrani by applying his knowledge of biology and technology alike. This was approved, with the caveat that he ensure the technologies keep mankind subservient. Appalled, he still publicly went with this. But it did not take long for the man to begin adjusting the programming to skirt these regulations. This was successful largely because of the fact that the Yrrani civil war demanded ever more soldiers and his masters were eager to weaponize their human servants once the first waves of Yrrani casualties struck.
Slowly at first, and then all at once, the Progenitor's people rebelled. Very minor sabotages of security systems and the like to ensure the rebellion would come wholly as a surprise preceded perhaps the bloodiest night the stars had known. The self-declared Supremacy in a mere eleven minutes had exterminated a billion Yrrani lives. Household servants, nurses, miners, soldiers, technicians, every single human upgraded by the Progenitor's technologies would surge forth and destroy Yrrani around them by any means necessary. The second billion was slain by the end of the first hour of the rebellion, and by the end of the first day the slaughter was all but total. Almost overnight the slaves of the western clique of the Yrrani civil war had entirely supplanted them as one of the sides of the Yrrani civil war.
Thus mankind's bloody sons went on the warpath for their ultimate vengeance.
Extermination Though billions of their own had been slain in the process, the Supremacy came to consider the Yrrani civil war a victory for themselves. The Yrrani were all but wiped out, no organized state of their's persisting to their knowledge. Still, watching over the ashes of the countless souls and worlds they had obliterated, the Supremacy knew its goals were not complete. Mankind was not yet perfect, and there were still Yrrani hiding about the stars. Thus they came to be known as a scourge of the world, Supreme fleets showing up in star systems and bringing untold violence to ensure but a single space-yacht of Yrrani refugees could not escape their vengeance. At the same time the unending quest to live up to the name of Supremacy does not end. Ever new technologies and biologies are sought out to learn, to study, and ultimately apply to create the Supreme being.
Quiet The Reclamation war was - to the Superior - ultimately a nuisance. The efforts to seek and wipe out hiding Yrrani exclaves was interrupted, however a clear positive was seen in the fact that war was an excellent opportunity to yet further improve the Supreme being. The violence unleashed upon their competitors bore but a fraction of the hate and destruction that the Yrrani had faced. But still many horrors were abound, whole colonies of people kidnapped to be experimented on and ultimately upgraded.
Peace was thus if anything a disappointment as it meant the Supreme had once more to adjust their industrial bases for peacetime economies. However, they refused to even attend the conference of Jarlia, refusing to recognize the validity of anything signed before the eyes of the Old Masters. Thus, for the most part the Supremacy merely retreated into the systems that its fleets were occuppying in the moment. Refusing to return the worlds they held and yet not picking any more fights, they became reclusive and secretive, only on occassion showing up to make one-time trade deals or perform minor raids on distant worlds to obtain more stock for upgrading.
The only true interstellar activity of the Supremacy remained the Extermination fleets, these armadas going far to seek out remaining pockets of Yrrani and wage war upon them.
Once a great hotbed of mining and industry, these binary star systems played host to the might of squat-kin who swarmed to her rich prospects during the time of Pax Yrrani. The mining operation lead by the legendary squat, Svart, quickly turned into a capitalist bordello where labor laws of the empire were overlooked in the name of raw production, a quality of life that the squats claimed to value above all. Squat pilgrims from across the galaxy flocked, mined, trafficked, and died in the purple hazed fodder of the Svartnik nebulae.
The mercantile power heavily settled a number systems which they rotted and plundered -quite literally- to their cores. When a neighboring system, the Oogmanik, was conquered for its agricultural support, a great floral infestation was unleashed.
The Desperation, Pueraria Desporata, native to the Oogmanik system, ravished the holdings of the Svarts. Though appearing as a simple leafed vine of violet hue, the scourging vine grows rapidly without the observed need for light, water, or soil. It is capable of growing in space, leading to the destruction and abandonment of many Svart vessels and satellites. Unless destroyed at the atomic level it is capable of replicating. Early attempts at destroying affected systems (of which multiple were sacrificed) found the particles of the Desperation flung into neighboring areas, much less the craft that had delivered the salvos. It is presumed that the “plant” draws its lifeforce from some other dimension, that it is perhaps grown from “infected” connections of atomic particles, and –if one believes the acolytes of Oogmanik– that it is destined to spread through all matter in the galaxy.
The frog-like beasts, the Oogma, who have inhabited the Oogmanik system have suffered predation by the Desperation since recorded time. However, they do appear to have acquired a resistance to its growth within their bodies. Despite this resistance, all of the Oogma eventually die from its infestation; a fate which they hail as the natural course for all matter. The Oogma’s mammary milk (a purple hued beverage tasting like vinegary peat) appears to be the only substance in which the Desperation cannot replicate. As such, it has become the almost sole foodstuff consumed within Svart’s Rest by non-Oogma, the consumption of standard foods proving too risky for most. In fact, death from ingested Desperation and its internal replication has claimed lives of the vast majority of the once vibrant Svartnik realm.
~ Government ~
Since the spread of the Desperation, much of the Svart resources have been dedicated to the self (and intergalactic) imposed quarantine. Interactions with outside powers is often remote; media, banking, and other hyper-commed engagements being the primary export. Though scanning for the Desperation is quite possible, many polities have embargoed physical trade given the severity of risk to life and tech alike. Most incoming goods are seen as one-way trips. Once in the confines of Svart's Rest, it is never certain if one could (or should) leave.
In the spirit of their founder, Svart the Dusted, Svart’s Rest remains a highly capitalistic, industrialist oligarchy with the citizens united by the vision of their respective corporations. Voting is granted to system governors (three) and a contingent of representatives from the top nine production powers in the realm.
The WiseThe Nine of Might Perscilla - Harold of Anooknik, the capital system - Aphorisms: Stability, Constitution, Honor
Slougk - Harold of Tanooknik, the industrial system - Aphorisms: Production, Vision, Relevance
Vilk - Harold of Oogmanik, the agricultural necessity - Aphorisms: Thought, Adaptability, Survival
~ Demographics ~
The Svarts - A catch all of squat-kin from around the galaxy. Industrious, disciplined, lovers of vibrato songs and moist stones.
The Oogma - Amphibian mammaloids whose shamanistic relationship with the Desperation is vexed by the Svart’s need for their milk. They are seen as unproductive, unintelligent, and frankly deranged by the Svart’s; though they are beautiful singers.
~ Military ~
Largely focused on harmonic weaponry, an extrapolation of their mining technology. The Svart’s have a large standing fleet, a rusted holdover from their time as major magnets of piracy and external interest. This bygone era of mining ventures and galactic power parity has few resources left in its contemporary coffers. When budget meetings cycle, the fleet is a regular victim of austerity measures. Since the spread of the Desperation, much of the military presence has been used to destroy those trying to escape rather than assault. With the Desperation claiming more vessels each day, and with supply and technologies from abroad so difficult to come by, the admiralty of the Svarts is decrepit and outdated. The once proud standing army has been mothballed into a militia force, as answers to their plight and crumbling infrastructure have become a blackhole of mental and financial capital.
Defunct State Formerly classified as a Bioriod-Assisted Democracy
Demographics
Historic Statistics:
Yrrani-Twei: ~30 Billion
Humans: ~5 Billion
Yrrani: ~1 Billion
Other Species: ~1 Billion
Bioroids: Indeterminable number
Current Statistics:
Yrrani-Twei: DATA NOT FOUND
Humans: DATA NOT FOUND
Yrrani: DATA NOT FOUND
Other Species: DATA NOT FOUND
Bioroids: DATA NOT FOUND
An offshoot of the Yrrani, the Twei are an ethnic minority that are most easily distinguished by the fact that they have longer ears. They are usually fair skinned, pale even, but can be darker skinned, often as the result of cross breeding with humans. Much like their cousins, the Twei are blessed with longevity, general physiological resilience, unnatural beauty as well as graceful aging, and generally keen minds. They are also noted as possessing great spacial awareness and reflexes, both of which are often further enhanced by cybernetics.
Military
The Republic Joint Armed Forces (RJAF), initially formed by the Ghost Nebula Provincial Defense Legion, were the military services responsible for the defense of the Ghost Nebula Republic. The military was broken up into two competing branches: the Republican Navy (RN) and the Republican Ground Forces (RGF). The Republican Navy was considered to be the more senior and prestigious of the branches and received the bulk of the military’s budget. As a general rule of thumb The Republic Joint Armed Forces had a strong bias of quality over quantity, although this was slightly less so for the Ground Forces.
The Republican Navy was a battle-hardened, highly loyal, force and was often referred to as the Sword of the Republic. Much like the navy, the Republican Marine Corps was a highly effective offensive combat force. As a general rule of thumb Republic Navy warships were very durable and very effective brawlers. Republic Navy warships each possessed a spinal particle beam cannons that served as its primary killing weapon. Very effective CIWS provided protection against longer range attacks and acted as secondary guns. As a general rule of thumb Republic Navy warships tended to lack very long range weaponry, relying on a few missile launchers per ship and fighter craft to cover combat ranges outside the reach of their particle beam cannons. On the subject of fighter craft: every Republic Navy ship carried at least a few fighters and shuttles, although the bulk of fighter operations were still centralized on specialized carriers.
The Republic Ground Forces were the shield of the Ghost Nebula and historically were regulated to defensive and holding actions, although the Ground Forces was responsible for conducting the majority of combat operations during the DATA NOT FOUND Campaign. The RGF existed primarily as a defensive force, responsible for directly protecting the Ghost Nebula’s citizens and holding territory recaptured by the Navy and marines.
Technology Overview
The Ghost Nebula Republic was very advanced when it came to AI, robotics, cybernetics, and energy storage. The invention of room-temperature nonpressurized superconductors and bioroids were some of the Ghost Nebula Republic’s greatest technological advancements.
Superconductors: The creation of room-temperature nonpressurized superconductors had contributed greatly to the Republic. These superconductors were used in digital circuits, magnetic levitation devices, robotics, energy storage devices, particle beam weaponry, and electric motors to name a few.
Bioroids: Bioroids, or more properly named biomimetic AI, are highly advanced AI that saw widespread use throughout the Ghost Nebula Republic. Bioroids are distinct from traditional AI (called nominal AI in the Republic) in that they are an artificial brain based on biological brain mapping (bioroid brain is the term used to talk about the actual artificial brain hardware). Bioroids are broken up into four classes based on the size and general capabilities of their bioroid brains. Class A bioroids possess very large bioroid brains, often about the size of a car, and have a lot of processing power. They often have numerous “built in” supportive nominal AIs that help them perform numerous tasks at once. These levels of AI are often used to control spacecraft and stations. Class B bioroid brains are the same size as a human brain. Intellectually they are the same as a cybernetically enhanced human. Class C bioroids are considered to be a sub-human intellect bioroid. They aren’t exactly unintelligent, only super focused on one specialty, thus comparably inflexible. Class D bioroids utilize very small bioroid brains and are considered to be animalistic in intellect; people often compare them to canines or birds of prey. They are often used in robots that don’t require high levels of intellect or where the use of a man-machine link is likely to be employed.
At the height of development, Bioroid developers had gotten very good at creating and altering bioroid personalities; they could give a bioroid any kind of personality they desire. In practice this was often used to make a bioroid enjoy whatever task they are likely to be given, turning what might be argued a state of slavery into a blissful existence.
Bioroid developers had also gotten very good at making humanoid, or animal based, bioroids as indistinguishable from the living beings they were based off of as possible. Synthskin and artificial muscle could make a bioroid feel perfectly human; in fact some are advanced enough that without performing a specialized scan or invasive search, it would be impossible to tell that a bioroid is not a human.
Cybernetics: Cybernetics were a fairly advanced and common technology in the Ghost Nebula Republic. Most citizens had nanomachine grown brain circuitry that acted as an internal computer. This brain circuitry could be connected to via a terminal that was usually located on the index finger. Cybernetics were also used to delay the effects of aging by a decade or so.
Robotics: Robotics was a very developed field of science in the Republic. Android bodies could be built that are nearly impossible to distinguish from a biological body without specialized scans or an invasive search.
Man-Machine Link: Man-Machine Links, shortened to MML, use a humanoid’s cybernetics to directly connect his/her brain to a bioroid through the use of specially designed ports usually installed at the base of the human’s skull. MMLs allow a bioroid to effectively read a human’s mind, thus enabling it to act on the human’s will before they have even given their intentions coherent thought. An example of this link in action would be a fighter pilot determining that he wants to attack a target and the bioroid performing the act of aiming and firing weapons. In other words it allows for superhuman reactions at human direction.
Adaptive Camouflage: In short adaptive camouflage changes patterns and color schemes to match the surrounding environment. This is not to be confused with active camouflage or cloaking and instead is more of a “pallet/pattern” swap. For example a soldier’s uniform would have a woodland pattern when in the forest and if he walked into a city the uniform’s camouflage would change to an urban design and color set. At first adaptive camouflage was limited to armored vehicles, but advancements in the technology and general reduction in price has expanded it to clothing as well.
History
Historically the Ghost Nebula had always been a somewhat isolated region. Intelligent life was slow to evolve in the region and a mixture of gasses and heavy asteroid presence made navigation and exploration more difficult than other regions of the galaxy. What intelligent life did evolve in the region was all but exterminated when the Yrrani expanded into the Ghost Region.
Development of the Ghost Region was never much of a priority for the Yrrani Empire. The aforementioned lack of natural resources and difficulty in exploring made it useful for little more than military outposts. And once the Yrrani empire had expanded its borders further still what little importance the Ghost Region had dwindled even further. The Twei Expulsion changed everything.
The Twei were a Yrrani ethnic minority, notable for being physically distinct from Yrrani due to their long ears, who were more democratically leaning then their Yrrani cousins. Relations between the two ethnicities had never been warm, but what had previously been a lack for warmth turned to downright freezing after a number of large-scale Twei protests over the mistreatment of non-Yrrani species. The Empire cracked down on the Twei, prompting a brief, but bloody, insurrection. This insurrection ended when the Yrrani gave their Twei cousins an ultimatum. Leave or die. Some of the Twei remained to continue their fight against the Empire, but once Imperial troops began executing women and children, the fight left the Twei populace, which fled their homes by the billians.
The Ghost Region proved to be the Twei’s only safe haven. It remained an undeveloped, nearly resourceless, region, but it was now home to the Twei. The Twei proved to be an industrious people, quickly building cities to house their population as they explored the largely unexplored Ghost Nebula. Once these explorers began finding resource rich asteroids and planetoids, Twei society experienced an economic boom. By 1800 years ago, some of the largest cities had begun to rival those of Pax Yrrani’s greatest cities, if not in size then in wealth. And it wasn’t just Twei that lived in the Ghost Region by this point, humans, numerous other species, and even some Yrrani had come to call the Ghost Region home.
Had nothing changed, perhaps the Ghost Region might have developed into a true rival to Pax Yrrani’s core worlds. Or perhaps the Ghost Region might have led a revolt against Pax Yrrani. Either way, the Yrrani had other plans. One day without warning Pax Yrrani deployed the Astral Sword against the Ghost Region. This superweapon literally tore holes in space around the Ghost Region, isolating it from the rest of the galaxy. These tears in space would take over fifteen hundred years to close and until they did so the Ghost Region was truly isolated from the rest of the galaxy. Travel into and out of the Ghost Region was impossible and this proved to be the case for all forms of information as well.
At first the people of the Ghost Region panicked, but this quickly bled away and was replaced with relief and excitement. For the first time the Yrrani-Twei didn’t have to live under the boot of the Yrrani. Within short order the Ghost Nebula Republic was formed, where all were equal regardless of species. The old Ghost Region Provincial Defense Legion formed the core of the Republics Armed Forces, the founders of the Republic were forward thinking enough to realize that there was always the risk of rebellions or Pax Yrrani somehow finding its way back into the Ghost Region.
The next one hundred years was a golden age for the Ghost Nebula Republic. Technological advancement, economic development, social and cultural revolutions all were center stage during these hundred years. But like all golden ages, the Republic’s ended. There was virtually no warning before-
DATA CORRUPTED
ATTEMPTING TO REPAIR DATA
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REPAIR FAILED
ATTEMPTING RECOVERY FROM OFFSITE BACKUP
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UNABLE TO CONNECT WITH OFFSITE BACKUP
CONTACT TECHNICAL SUPPORT
The Ghost Nebula Republic is gone. Its people are gone. Nothing looks up at the night sky with hope or aspirations as the astral tears repair themselves. The Ghost Region is once again accessible to the rest of the galaxy (although travel to the region is still limited to a few access points and the trip itself is hazardous), no communications leave the region. No ships exit to inform the rest of the galaxy of the good news. It's almost as if it, and all who lived in it, are dead.
The Lords of Antar could be charitably described as a council of the rulers of the nations of Antar. In reality, the High Lords serve the interests of their own people first and foremost, while small scale internal wars and border skirmishes are not a rarity. Despite their differences and the near complete lack of a binding structure, the Antari still tend to stick together in the face of external forces because of their shared experiences, cultural similarities, and adherence to various feudal systems.
To deal with the Lords of Antar is to deal with each Antari nation individually. Four superpowers dominate the planet:
-The Kingdom of Arcadia; a strictly hierarchical, absolute monarchy. It is the most wealthy nation on Antar, in control of the richest deposits of mineral wealth.
-The Kingdom of Baran; a constitutional monarchy, fiercely traditionalist and an agricultural powerhouse as owners of the most fertile lands on the planet.
-The Chthonian League; a confederation of republics, city-states and smaller kingdoms united in common defence against the larger powers of Antar.
-The Empire of Katara; a ruthless police state relying on closely guarded technological expertise unmatched among their rivals to maintain its position.
Demographics:
99% humans, very small numbers of aliens
Antar system: 17.7 billion Wyland system: 1.1 billion Megin system: 2.2 billion Daitan-Sa system: 1.6 billion Purileptos system: 800 million Khargal system: 230 million Khadjerun system: 400 million
Each Antari nation possesses its own military, complete with ground forces, spaceships and special forces. The Antari way of war is swift, brutal and overwhelming, emphasising the use of light and heavy elements while conventional units have a generally more static role. At the center of every Antari military is a hard core of professional soldiers and, most notably, the Knights. These elite warrior aristocracies supply pilots for the Ironclads; gigantic combat mechs of fearsome power.
Ships:
Antari spaceships use hyperspace as their means of FTL travel. This uses a huge amount of energy that requires time to charge; the larger the ship, the more energy is required and thus the longer it takes. When enough energy is accumulated and then discharged through a jump drive, the ship translates into the parallel dimension called “hyperspace”. Moving through hyperspace shortens distances immensely, with Antari ships able to reach distant systems in a matter of months or days. The downside of hyperspace travel is that any fleet in hyperspace is blind to what is outside of it: ships orient themselves using the signature of large gravity wells resonating from realspace to hyperspace, such as stars and planets; however, things such as spaceships and space stations are much too small to be detectable from hyperspace. As such, it is heavily recommended to exit hyperspace a good distance away from any populated world.
Below is a classification of Antari military spaceships ordered by size. Classes, variants and specialisations may vary considerably and are too numerous to list here.
Patrol craft: The smallest ships that are capable of operating independently, although the majority are not hyperspace-capable. Their roles range from escort duty to interception and system patrol.
Destroyer: Small escort vessels that use hit and run pack tactics against larger ships.
Destroyer leader: Up-sized destroyers equipped with more powerful sensors and comms arrays, acting as group leaders for other destroyers without sacrificing manoeuvrability.
Frigate: Light ships that defend the fleet against enemy destroyers and act as an additional point defence layer for larger friendly ships.
Heavy frigate: More heavily armed and armoured than frigates, heavy frigates are capable of standing in the battle line, at least for a time.
Light cruiser: Light cruisers fill a multitude of roles and are very commonly used both in routine patrol and in fleet engagements.
Cruiser: These large vessels are the backbone of the Antari navies. Boasting abundant speed, armour and firepower, cruisers act as anchors for the fleet and are suited for trading blows with the main body of an enemy fleet. Smaller fleets often use a cruiser as their flagship.
Grand cruiser: Rarely seen among the High Lords’ forces, grand cruisers carry armament that is second only to battleships, while retaining more speed at the cost of some protection.
Carrier: Many Antari ships carry a small number of strike crafts. Dedicated carriers however can support a much greater number, but only have some defensive weapons for their protection in battle.
Battleship: These massive vessels are cumbersome, very heavily protected and capable of terrible displays of destruction.
Battlecarrier: The largest military ships in existence in the Antari navies, battlecarriers support more strike crafts than even dedicated carriers while being able to fight in the battle line with firepower comparable to a cruiser and armour equivalent to a battleship’s.
Antar Defense Command (ADC):
Despite their attachment to their independence, the Lords of Antar recognize the benefits of unified military structures, and thus Antar Defense Command was created as a compromise. ADC is a global military organisation with a hierarchy separated from any individual nation’s military, yet subordinate to the High Lords. ADC is strictly meant to defend Antar against external threats; as such, it may not be used against any Antari faction or individual, in any circumstance. It is first and foremost a command structure; while it operates a number of space stations, orbital forts, anchorages and listening posts, it maintains only the bare minimum of personnel during peacetime, and relies on contributions from the High Lords for almost all of its combat troops in times of war, thus preventing ADC from ever being a potential threat to the Lords of Antar.
Nevertheless, ADC is a well-funded, well-oiled machine boasting excellent diplomats, the best intelligence and electronic warfare specialists that Antar has to offer, and an officer corps with a reputation as some of the brightest, toughest and most intensively trained men this side of the galaxy.
Little is known of the time before the rise of the Lords of Antar. The planet once belonged to the Yrrani, who built great automated manufacturing complexes across its surface with one goal: to mass-produce weapons and machines of war. Humans were brought to Antar by their Yrrani masters, to provide what labour could not be achieved by the artificial intelligences residing at the heart of the factories and their countless drones. And one day, the Yrrani returned to the stars.
The human population was left to its own devices, quickly organising into rudimentary civilisations and forming various cultures across Antar. But as this fragment of humanity slowly picked itself back up, a great danger was brewing in the bowels of the planet. The Yrrani factories malfunctioned, their complex algorithms becoming corrupted somehow. The already colossal industrial complexes expanded to several times their original size on the surface, while tunnelling to untold depths all the while growing higher and higher in grotesque amalgamations of buildings stacked on top of one another. And while the factories grew into malformed parodies of their previous forms, so did the machines that they produced. Most were utterly useless, and swiftly recycled by the automated factories to be spewed back out again in another form. Those that did function wandered out, roaming the country on their own and wreaking havoc as their hyper-aggressive and out of control combat intelligences engaged any and all forms of life on their path.
From the chaos and destruction emerged the Knights: latent psionics among the human populations of Antar whose innate gift allowed them to interface with the complex technology of machines dubbed Ironclads: gigantic war mechs secured from the very same automated factories that released endless horrors into the world. The Ironclads, though evidently tainted, did not bear as many defects and crucially did not have AI cores like the other war machines did. Over time, knightly orders and noble houses formed with the genetic inheritance of psionic ability being passed down from one generation to the next, along with the sacred duty to protect their people.
Five centuries later, pragmatism has become dogma, knowledge has become religion, and the still operating Yrrani factories are now known as Hell’s Gates, where Demons, Beasts and other horrors born from synthetic life dwell. Constant reminders of danger and duty, no matter the lofty heights that the Lords of Antar have attained since.
Constitutional Monarchy ((The Current Sitting Monarch: King Yrist Xannus Gorluin Aelamis; Heir Apparent (ala Primogeniture): Princess Ilyndra Ashwryn Yrralisa Aelamis))
Demographics:
They ruled for untold centuries, acting both as benevolent rulers, and terrible tyrants. They gifted many worlds wonderous technologies, uplifted species of their choosing, all the while they razed entire systems to any who would dare defy their rule and wiped entire species from the face of all of creation. They were both loved and feared, revered and reviled by trillions-....
The makers of a two millenia-long imperium that managed to last for longer than many aspiring nations have hoped to, the Yrrani are a humanoid species that possesses a number of traits. Longevity, general physiological resilience, a more widespread latent psionic aptitude, unnatural beauty as well as graceful aging, and generally keen minds. It is unknown if the Yrrani of today are the same as their oldest forebears, though, or if centuries of imperium, populating the stars, and obvious matters such as the use of advanced medicines and genetic modifications to themselves have taken their toll in the long-term. It is, for the most part, assumed that it is all a mixed bag after so long as seemingly original records of the Yrrani’s rise either disappeared or went missing by the time of the fall of the Yrrani Empire itself.
What is known somewhat is that some Yrrani perhaps do still hold to the idea of restoring the Empire, even as their race declines and has mostly disappeared throughout the cosmos, though many others perhaps do not as well. It is, to use a human saying, a ‘mixed bag’ that one can’t simply assume a unified answer for across the span of a dying and storied race such as the Yrrani.
Meanwhile, within the UID in particular (at least) this species’s presence at first was mostly of a ‘mixed bag’ that were imported by the Sickly Emperor and otherwise before this point by chance during development of Project Reservoir over the decades and as workers were brought in for the project and its aims. The end result is a centuries of a mixed-bag group of Yrrani, ones whose descendants have rebranded under the term of “Yrrani-Idkar” or mostly just as “Idkar” as a new and growing derivative cultural/ethnic identity of sorts has evolved over time among their majority due to initial forced intermingling before and initially after the fall of the Yrrani Empire. This term itself is also derived from the name of the UID’s capital world of Tar Idkar.
To most of these, at least within the UID, even the term “Yrrani” has been switched out for the initially informal and eventually legally-defined use of “Idkar” as their designator and species identity in line with cutting ties to the past. At the very least, the “Idkar” of the UID have managed to not only avoid dying out but also have continued to grow in population once more. However, among the Idkar population aspirations of imperium have in the end died with use of the ‘Yrrani’ moniker among the vast majority here within the past six centuries. Some consider this a mere political change among the UID’s Idkar over the last six centuries, to cut ties with the old Empire further in some capacity after fearing reprisals from neighbors, while others see it as simply another designated cultural or other such subgroup naturally developing within an overall species over the past six centuries. A minority of older cultural enclaves have also managed to remain after the centuries as well, though are usually found on certain worlds or such as a consequence of past migrations, who was imported from where and to which place in the pre-fall Empire within the boundaries of Project Reservoir, or later attempts to ‘preserve their past’ in some capacity or such like thought processes. Etc.
It cannot be understated that the effect of Project Reservoir was, whether in ways intentionally and other unintentionally, a force that led to the development of the “Idkar” proper. Though it seems that, by importing a number of groups in, those running Project Reservoir purposefully in part sought to make use of many ‘non-mainstream’ Yrrani groups and sects who would be more loyal to the project than to the system at large of the Yrrani Empire. This would help provide a means for keeping the project ‘more secure’, it seems, given the circumstances of things. However, this is a modern theory based on some evidence and decades of calculation and investigation of the past by the government of the UID. After so long, and all that has happened in the galaxy, it is perhaps safe to say that the ‘gritty details of the truth’ have likely been lost to time to enough of an extent.
((Other Extant Yrrani Subgroup Minorities within the UID:
1 ) Yrrani-Twei
))
((Note 1: If you want to have a Yrrani subgroup of yours feature in an enclave within the UID, just if you want to (don’t have to I mean), then let me know! :D))
((Note 2: Old Yrrani used to spell words with apostrophes, putting emphasis on certain syllables or such to emphasize the meaning of a word’s component parts culturally and linguistically. Yet as the Kingdom and later Empire of the Yrrani grew among the stars, the Yrrani language was ultimately streamlined to cast them off in the long-term to make it easier to use. Hence why the word for “new hope” or “Idkar” would be “Id’kar” (Id = new; kar = hope) in Old Yrrani compared to the version the galaxy came to know or remember by current times. This loss in linguistic emphasis and breakdown, perhaps, can also be seen as some loss of identity or roots to the Yrrani as they grew beyond their homeworld to boot.
This can be especially noted as certain things like “Yrri” (Yr = parent/origin; Ri = the ‘masculine’ syllable in Old Yrrani) and “Yrra” ( Yr = parent/origin; Ra = Feminine syllable in Old Yrrani) became known more as a title for an Emperor/Empress or planet to take on rather than their actual literal meanings of “Father” and “Mother” respectively (EX: Tar Yrra = “The Mother” or “our mother world”). This occurred as the Yrrani language became mainstream, as well as when it interacted with other races and became streamlined in the long-term for teaching and communication purposes. Such a small change seems to many to be a ‘nothing’, though to others the lack of emphasis in linguistics as facilitated by galactic expansion and streamlining of the language was seen as a loss of origins/identity/their roots to others. Further, one cannot ignore the changes to the language in addition as some of the most populous foreign species’ terms/language leaked in….as well as when some terms and words gained new definitions and uses over time (like how irl “Caesar” and “Augustus” became titles and symbols of being a ruler in the wider world, in and of themselves, instead of being mere Latin names).))
((Note 3: Emperors/Empresses in the Empire gained certain personal titles as a consequence of reputation or their actions, and even due to events that occurred during their reign, such as the “Austere Emperor”, the “Wrathful Empress”, the “Chaste Emperor/Empress”, etc.))
Humans. Terrans. Homo sapiens sapiens. It is unknown where this particular two-legged humanoid (or ‘yrranoid’ as the Yrrani would call it way back when) species frankly originated from, its original homeworld having gone long forgotten and lost to the ages in the minds of its descendants. Humans have spread across the galaxy about as much as the Yrrani did back during the heights of the Yrrani Empire, spreading much like some kind of ‘pest’ as some might note, with varying skin colorations and appearances of their own to boot. Yet despite lacking many of the space seeming advantages as Yrrani as a species, to make the comparison, humanity has made up for it in ingenuity and sheer determination to explore, understand, and forge new homes across the cosmos. Versatile and originating from a higher-gravity world much as the Yrrani did, though, this also led humanity to be both rugged enough to go onward…
….Though as a small aside, after ‘a few incidents’ humans in certain far-fringe places would develop a ‘stereotype’ in some far-flung places prior to the Empire’s fall of ‘being crazy experimental idiots who come up with stupidly crazy ideas when bored’. Among these are ideas such as ‘taping knives to a floor-cleaning robot and naming it something silly like Stabby or Kevin’ and the classic example of ‘strapping a warp core to a makeshift rocket and firing it into a space station to blow it up as a desperate attempt to dissuade and invasion force from landing’. Among their other feats are ‘finding new and creative ways to either blow themselves or others up’ and, not to forget a goodie but an oldie, voluntarily going ‘hey let’s see if doing X thing kills us’ and either finding out the hard way or somehow rebounding from it to tell their tale to any sapient ear that they can hold captive with the story.
(Also this is a joke part, please don't take it seriously, lol.)
Standing apart from simply individuals of other species who use cybernetics or have prosthetics, this group’s members identify themselves apart from their ‘original species’ and instead identify together with other ‘augmented’. While originally classified as a mere cultural or ethnic identity of members from still-differing species, they are tentatively listed as a ‘demographic’ of their own at the very least by current times after decades of debate and discussion over the matter within the UID government. They are a group that, for the most part, venerates technology and the augmentation of their flesh and began with missionaries of “The Holy Cog” which entered UID space. In particular the Augmented of the UID, the second smallest demographic minority of the UID, originated in their ways and such from the teachings of one missionary simply known under the identity of “Sister Mechila” or ‘Saint Mechila” to some.
Mechila was an ardent missionary of The Holy Cog, and her humble Forge Ship was a curious arrival within UID space. Her teachings were taken in by few, and many were wary of her and her teachings for a number of reasons. However, she sought to bring the strength and certainty of metal to the weakness of flesh, and in her pursuit of truth would come into conflict with some lower UID authorities over the matter of potential loyalties and her place of origin. This led to her eventual arrest and court trial after some accused her, though in a peculiar turn of events the expected declaration of her being ‘guilty’ would fall through after coming to the highest court in the UID. This was followed with some discussion behind closed doors, before finally Mechila was released and allowed to return to where she’d set up. She had refused to raise a violent hand the entire time, even as she’d been arrested telling some of the more nervous or potentially violent new followers to stand down, news of the case hitting the public at large would lead to her gaining a new swell of followers.
The faith of the Holy Cog would come to define the culture of most Augmented, aka they emerged from those who joined to the faith, though certain legal issues would seem to be solved in the aftermath of Saint Mechila and her example. An anti-extremist, she preached only taking in the willing to their ranks and promoting goodwill to their non-Augmented neighbors without trying to be coercive. Nay, they were to simply lend strength to their neighbors and to lawfully and gladly support the nation that was their home in sickness or in health.
While some have sought to take heavily-augmented people in some cases to identify among the formal “Augmented” demographic, there are still notable differences between most of those who do not follow the faith and get augmented to more or less of a degree and those who follow the faith. Sometimes a little conflict historically has sparked here and there between the Augmented and non-faithful augmentees or ex-members and even non-machine-augmented, though work toward ensuring a lasting peace has seen things improve overall in this regard quite a bit since the arrival of Sister Mechila 250 years ago. By current times the faith of the Holy Cog and the Augmented demographic are simply another part of life and the citizenry of the UID as a whole.
Known in their own tongue as the Livelloúli, nicknamed the “Livelli”, the translation of this term into galactic common is Aretposina. Females are known to have a feminine-type body layout with a ‘grasping’ prehensile tail, while males instead are known to have slimmer and longer wings and have a ‘pointy’ singular piece at the end of their tail that is said to possess a rather small and vestigial venom sac no longer connected to it with a venom inside known to cause lingering disorientation, nausea, and dizziness in those affected by it. Their societies in primitive times were noted as having a higher occurrence of fierce competition for territory, though as civilization advanced, wars occurred, and trends began to emerge, this particular anecdote would never fully vanish individually even if at the national level it would diminish to a notable extent as the species advanced and developed in its home. Further, it can be said in generally broad strokes that their societies emerged to become about as individualistic as those of some human cultures, to give a baseline comparison, though unity as a species and under things like cultural, ethnic, and national identities would also develop in their pre-contact era to boot.
Living and dwelling on the supposedly and reputedly sunny and warm world of Terser III (as named by the Yrrani; is known as “Noia” in their tongue and their home star as “Arétim”), in reality a stereotypic reputation that came from their homeworld having a larger equatorial region than many that, ultimately, was in the end only part of the ‘continental world’ they called home and where the species came to live (temperate regions, notable polar regions, oceans and island, etc, also exist there with varied climes). On their own, they would globally see their greatest powers progress to roughly a state of advancement defined formerly by the Yrrani of the time as the “Basic Industrial Era” (OOC: Like a WW1-era US + Europe type of technology levels) before eventually being encountered by the Yrrani Empire (this Yrrani definition of advancement would change quite a bit centuries later, among other things).
When first encountered by a growing but young Yrrani Empire, as this came shortly after changing from being called the “Yrrani Kingdom” even, they were seen as a potential species either way to enslave and subjugate or uplift alongside themselves instead in a more xenophilic manner. As such a good many were enslaved during this contentious time period, with females most often used as servants and males as soldiers or laborers as a rough general trend, though a good many others were instead uplifted by the Yrrani. The species would ultimately end up in a cycle of flux between these states in the many coming centuries, though within the Late Period of the Yrrani Empire it would see more of their kind end up enslaved rather than staying free in a general sense. Many would also be imported into Project Reservoir as workers, with the Sickly Emperor later importing many purchased and freed slaves as well as some amount of free Livelli as part of an attempt to ‘preserve the species of the Empire from what was to come’ in his eyes.
This, as it were, turned out to be the best call on said Emperor’s part, ensuring the future UID would both possess the largest extant and growing Livelli population as well as eventually have some reason to claim the species’ actual homeworld into its territory as the new nation grew from the ashes of the former Yrrani Empire. Due to this, a number of the last few extant bits of Livelli cultures left have been preserved at the very least (or in some part if nothing else) in the long-term as well as a consequence. However, the intermingling descendants of those who were exposed to Yrrani culture and otherwise along with the centuries of back and forth treatment by the old Empire do form the seeming majority.
((Also yes, words in their language are just reversed greek-language words for future reference.))
With many having taken flight after the conquests of the Augustan Empire, the members of this ‘warrior race’ would struggle to initially adapt to the UID and were seen as potential threats due to their initial migrating numbers and the fact it seemed to many their majority seemed to be fighting the Augustans. It was a time period where the UID was seeking to avoid some contact, or at least just angering, their closer neighbors. To see those initial migrants as ‘people fleeing a battle they saw as losing’ was certainly to become the stereotype and initial impression many had, at least, though further investigation and decades to come would spell out more of the details of the matter. In reality, most of those who fled had been on the losing side of a civil war among the Vrunak before the Augustans even conquered the Vrunak proper. Most originated from a particular ethnic and racial (both in this case) Vrunak group called the “Nek” (backwards "Ken", or Japanese for "sword" according to good old Google Translate), a growing minority group which had been targeted for elimination after being on the losing side of said civil war, who fled in mass numbers for their lives and took residence in and migrated to UID territory as a desperate measure after some discussion in the shadows with UID authorities behind closed doors. While a small number would leave to carve their own home once the greater body of Vrunak seemed to be conquered and collapsed, though, the greater majority would end up staying after it having been some time since they’d migrated there.
Initially many of the more warlike type had found work in the UID military, or at least had been routed to there in some part as ‘trade’ for their migration to the UID in this case, though despite some levels of Vrunak discrimination seeming to inevitably emerge in the long-term they would make their contribution to UID society in ways by bringing in their love of arts and some more peculiar foods and seasoning choices (among other things). After several centuries, while the discrimination isn’t wholesale gone it has instead been vastly reduced to the point that the vast majority generally see UID Vrunak as ‘just other UID citizens who’ve lived and died here like we do’.
Left to right: Southern, Northern, and Islander Dathu Subgroups
Native to the world of Datheron, the Dathu are an amphibious species with mammalian traits. The Dathu are an antiquated people with a similar culture to the medieval ages of many worlds. Their society ruled by nobles, lords, and kings. The Kingdom of Datheron was one of many short-lived states that emerged from the Great Fall. Within the span of a five decades, the Kingdom, and its holdings would fall and be annexed by the steadily growing Augustan Empire.
The Noble Houses of Datheron would be allowed to retain their power and status, although they would now answer to a new throne and sovereign not of their kind. The Dathu are also separated into several subgroups, the pale Northerners, adaptable Islanders, and the hardy Southerners.
Daxini (various but distinctly non-digital ones), Mu (?), Simmies, etc.
((Aka: Any other species minorities that exist within the UID, basically, will be put here in this hider either in the brief listing above or otherwise.))
Military:
(I will get to this at some point, hopefully, but too tired as of current times to get this extra detail, among many, written out.
AKA: I got too lazy and tired to write these little general standard things or particular details down in everything, so they are going here as a result.
1 ) Explosive weapons used by vehicles are antimatter warheads.
2 ) The ‘standard defensive package’ for manned military craft includes general forms of: Armoring, thermal insulation/protection radiation shielding (for craft used in space at least), electrical protection, protective armoring, anti-psionic protective lining (more aptly called ‘psionic resistance lining’, as it provides resistance instead of immunity and is just meant to at least help protect non-psionic pilots from psionic attacks/intrusions on them on the battlefield), and usually a primary or emergency shield generator of some sort. Likewise the implementation of self-healing materials, or things like built-in nanofactories, are also integrated into most forms of military technology and material when it comes to vehicles and soldier combat armors and such.
3 ) While not formally noted in this package, normally manned craft are fitted to not be ‘overly reliant on wireless capabilities’, akin to older-style craft, with certain vehicle-tracking measures using a proper quantum entanglement instead of older standard types of digital or radio methods. While overall this is a seemingly ‘primitive’ means of operation, myriad developments of comms-jamming and systems-hacking in the past would lead the UID to this eventual conclusion and design choice for self-contained systems to prevent more widespread issues. Even so, they still use the latest advanced comms systems as communications are something that couldn’t be backtracked on without significant issues (thus anti-jammers and things like cybersecurity measures have seen development in this particular realm to try to help protect these for units in-combat and outside of it). Further, aside from the case of psionics-operated vehicles and their own means of encryption and control in tandem with other things, non-psionic vehicles of certain types often utilize quantum entanglements in certain specific niches to connect something like a mech’s weapon to the mech itself in a safer and quantum-encrypted manner.
Does this all make the vehicles of the UID immune to everything and indestructible and perfect? Well, no. It’s just them having sought to adapt to what technological issues that their military has faced in and outside of combat over the past centuries. While one can’t expect everything they have to be just wireless and hackable outright, they did make their vehicles self-contained mostly for good reasons, they aren’t suddenly perfect and unstoppable as a military force just because of these measures they’ve taken in military craft design.
4 ) Most handheld soldier weapons are electromagnetic-type weapons and some particle beam weapons on the average. A few rare cases of some vehicles or surplus old weapons might be the type that uses advanced caseless ballistic ammunition (such as the RMATAG-AUV) instead.
5 ) Soldiers normally get a standard loadout of: A primary weapon, a sidearm, a vibroknife of some sort, and two or three grenade-type explosive weapons. Those taking on other roles, or particular missions, can and will vary in equipment depending on the scenario.
6 ) Psi-Corps soldiers have additional equipment types they can draw upon for missions due to their more unique nature, including psionic-controlled drones for scouting, psionic ‘bits’ for additional combat power (like those on the psionic mechs, but infantry-scaled and under more limitations), psionic-targeting projectiles/weapons, anti-psionic jamming machines (requires a psionic to use it though), etc. Also in that vein, anti-psionic cuffs and devices for psionic prisoners are also a thing that exists in parallel with all of this to boot.
7 ) ((To be added in the future?))
Bipedal Warfare Offensive Mobile Platform (BW-OMP)
This relic of the past is in fact a 16 foot tall MECHS platform from the Late Period of the Imperial Military, being a smaller profile bipedal platform mounted with dual rocket pods. It was most often used for hit-and-run attacks, ambushes, offensive campaigns, or to counteract either very few well-armored or plentiful soft targets alike. Known for its peculiar running speed and only using some light armor and a small shield generator to protect itself, it was a supplement infantry and other ground combat vehicles, with barely enough defenses to protect it from small arms and help it run away from or at least try to survive encountering more heavily-armored threats. It was most often used in rural/rough terrain, or urban scenarios, but found itself rather scarcely used if ever used in wide open areas when it came to combat for good reasons….and even if used in such wide open places only in the company of plenty of protection and only in support of other units like infantry and ground combat vehicles or such.
These things are a dime-a-dozen design even a fringe territory mechanic could become familiar with and repair. Thus it comes as no surprise they have had their general use in even far-flung garrisons during the time of the Yrrani Empire, and saw extensive modding for use with other weapon types by some rebel forces even, in the last few centuries of the Yrrani Empire’s existence and beyond even heading into the centuries of the Great Fall. The UID only has some stocks of these as ‘ancient surplus’, and where at least another type of bipedal combat platform from back then has at least stayed useful enough to keep upgrading and trying to improve upon by the UID….well….these instead haven’t changed at all since before the fall of the Yrrani Empire. Still aren’t totally useless or harmless, rockets and guns modified onto them are deadly weapons, but they are certainly ‘pretty outdated’ to be sure. They are also much cheaper to manufacture and copy than some ‘modern’ weapons of war as well, really, making them versatile platforms for the poorest of wannabe factions and states to boot…..a ‘BWOMP’, as soldiers have long nicknamed it, it is indeed.
A shorter and smaller military MECHS platform that can either be piloted by a remote operator using a quantum entanglement, or alternatively be entirely automated with advanced A.I., to support ground based troops and general infantry. It could be armed with a number of different loadouts for urban or something like jungle warfare as well, though one should not think it to be some outright ‘tank-killer’ mech either. It still is a proper anti-infantry design for the most part, and while some ‘anti-tank’ weapons and defenses can be installed to protect it in such scenarios (shield generators and such) it wasn’t built to last forever against them either. Used to supplement numbers and alongside general infantry, especially in cases of local garrison and conscripts, this versatile weapons platform was standardized and upgraded slowly over several centuries after its initial development and before the Yrrani Empire’s eventual fall. In the Late Period of the empire it was employed by the Imperial Military alongside regular infantry on the ground in general even still to help supplement numbers and equipment in some places, though it became most infamous in being used to help put down riots and in urban scenarios during the Century of Strife and in the two centuries in particular before that.
While the technology has seen a general and basic improvement since then within the territory that came to form the UID proper, and upgraded some since its use in the Yrrani Empire, it is certainly not the most advanced of platforms nor does it look too much different either in terms of comparing the UID’s existing designs to their centuries-old ancestors. It is a generally effective platform even post-collapse rebels and ex-Imperial Military factions still implement, or which have been recycled into autonomous defense units for some former-fringe territories of the now-dead empire that were lucky enough to get their hands on some. While the UID is perhaps among the very few who continued to try to improve the technology of this type of ground combat unit, it is mostly by now on its way out with the more widespread introduction of the MMRMAP platform by current times.
Modern Bipedal Warfare Manned Multi-Role Mechanized Assault Platform (M-BW-MMRMAP)
A ground-based MECHS platform going beyond the remote operation and A.I. piloting of the MRMAP and integrating a proper cockpit. The design of its body is much sleeker, far more mobile, and has a smaller profile in combat scenarios. Its outer casing and parts are covered in layers of advanced next-generation armoring and underlying ceramic alloys and thermal as well as electrical insulation, with even a built-in shield generator and anti-psionic protective lining to boot! While some weapons, such as Anti-Tank missiles and electronic countermeasures, are mounted on or into the body it mostly carries the rest of its loadout by hand. Such hand-carried weapons can be magnetically attached to its exterior in specific locations as well. While it has less room for the somewhat larger loadouts of the MRMAP, which is in the process of being phased out, its defensive protection, maneuverability, and ability to ‘survive’ a couple of direct hits from shots made by modern hovertanks (if nothing else) in a worst-case scenario has more than made up for this in practical application. Due to its size, squads of these are often deployed either on their own or to support infantry, not being beholden to supporting others in a mix as its predecessor also has been stuck to.
An advanced A.I. assists the pilot to boot, as well as can pilot the unit autonomously in case the pilot is caught outside of or is forced to operate or perform actions outside of the unit. A compact field survival kit and such has also been installed into these, alongside a backup pistol, rifle, and some ammunition for the pilot if needed in the field, all alongside a manual emergency release in case of the worst. Further, as a self-contained unit using installed quantum entanglements to connect to and communicate with its handheld weapons (not made to be wirelessly connected to everything under the sun) only the comms might be subject to interference or such in a combat scenario for the most part. It can also use incredible strength to move obstacles and dig through rubble or such to boot.
While it is of note to say that the Imperial Military was working on something like this for some time for ground deployment, the MMRMAP is a UID exclusive design ‘seemingly’ using the latest in post-Imperial technology in its arsenal. ((There is also a notable psionic-piloted variant of this that is in use currently by the UID, the P-MMRMAP, as well. Plus there’s variants meant for support/engineering roles and moving supplies, etc, as the platform at this stage has been further pushed into some form of versatility in the field and off of it. It even exists as the basis for a much less powerful civilian-grade model/type used for construction, as well as a police-grade form, and such.))
All-Terrain Anti-Gravity Main Battle Tank MK5 (ATAG-MBT MK5)
A hardy mainline battle tank for ground-based warfare, capable of moving over the surface of water and other rough terrains just as smoothly as over the open field. In terms of weapons it is fitted with a 20mm tri-barrel minigun, 15-count rocket/missile pod, and a powerful 105mm coilgun-type main gun. It is fitted with powerful thrusters and a tow cable, and both the latest in current day vehicle combat armor and combat-capable shield generator technology. Robust design and material filters for the thrusters ensure that the vehicle can move about with a confident general ease in wet and dry, muddy or dusty, and other such combat environments in a general sense. General point defense and other aforementioned defensive measures grant the unit a fair amount of survivability when facing other main battle tanks and artillery and such on the battlefield. Holds a crew of four, has a general anti-psionic lining inside as other manned vehicles do within the UID in general, and contains a general nanite repair kit and a crew survival kit.
All-Terrain Anti-Gravity Rapid-Approach Plasma Light Tank MK5 (ATAGRA-PLT)
A light tank mounted with a primary plasma railgun, as well as boasting powerful thrusters, a smaller profile, and faster movement speeds than the ATAG-MBT MK5. While its thrusters are just as rugged in design, and its lighter armor is angled and designed for survival on the battlefield, its primary defensive means is a stronger shield generator. Need for a stronger power source has, however, cut down the vehicle’s firepower to just its main gun with regards to issues of the design’s power consumption. Built-in point defense remains effective and can be used as a secondary weapon to combat soft targets at a range in lieu of lacking other secondary armaments otherwise. Holds a crew of three, and likewise contains a general nanite repair kit and crew survival kit.
While the ATAG-MBT MK5 is designed for primary ground based combat, especially out in the open, the ATAGRA-PLT is designed for either deployment alongside the former or for hit-and-run attacks against enemy targets in even urban combat scenarios as it possesses general flight capabilities unlike the former. It can move about in tighter spaces, was made to be resistant to infantry-carried anti-vehicle weapons, and its speed allows rapid attack capabilities surpassing its larger ‘cousin’ of sorts. However, its primary weapon shouldn't be underestimated due to its lack of any other major weapons aside from the built-in secondary uses for its point defense module. This plasma railgun hits rather hard, able to severely damage and frankly take down more heavily armored vehicles even double its size as well as deal serious damage to some kinds of enemy fortifications, which combined with the vehicle’s maneuverability makes this primary weapon a rather potent surprise package for those it's pointed at.
An all-terrain form of military utility vehicle that was used in ground operations as far back as the Late Period of the Yrrani Empire (before its fall), these are among the more common Pre-War Vehicles to still find in use today due to how utterly common they used to be. Able to carry supplies on the exposed side racks as well as on top, or instead seat up to six soldiers in the exposed side racks and supplies on top, it was a feature of Imperial Military Ground Operations for over two hundred years for a reason. With only a commanding officer and up to two pilots able to be housed inside of the protected cockpit, it could only effectively carry a singular squad of fully-armed and ready soldiers into battle or would find use as a small but generally effective cargo-moving vehicle in and outside of combat scenarios. Also being mounted with laser weapons that didn’t require ‘restocking ammunition’ for it, this vehicle traded the use of energy shielding in turn for being fitted with heavier armor with mixed-weapons defensive protection. To some soldiers, the saying ‘it takes a licking and keeps on ticking’ is certainly a phrase that applies to this vehicle in practice, though just as often if it needed repairs it can more easily accommodate that as well due to how ‘standardized’ it was in its heyday. Also notable was this craft’s ability to move over even bodies of water and such things with some amount of effective speed.
The standardization and long service of this vehicle can be attributed to several factors, however, with the most notable being the shift inside the Yrrani Empire from a ‘conquering expansion-focused military’ in many regions to become more of a ‘defensive policing force’ meant to keep order and put down potential rebellions in most places it controlled. Hence designs such as the ATAG-HAUV and other such vehicles and weapons emerged in the myriad centuries after the Empire hit the furthest extent of its outward expansion. This didn’t mean high-grade military weapons and platforms didn’t remain in use, or that technology didn’t advance in the Imperial Military or somehow got worse, but that simply the Imperial Military had to also adjust to a reasonable extent with the shifting of the times as with any nation in the history of the galaxy. Even so, the widespread rumors that ‘the Late Imperial Military was more cheaply and pitifully armed than before’ tend to discount the realities of the situation the Empire and Imperial Military were in and the consequences of those realities therein.
Even after the Century of Strife, one can find these ex-Imperial vehicles in use all over the place, either partially intact or altered or scavenged together by former rebels, individual planets that once had garrisons on them, and so forth since the fall of the Yrrani Empire. Sure they are outdated in a number of ways, that is for sure, but they remain generally effective at the very least and have thus remained in use. Even the UID still naturally has some small amount of these in storage or lying about at that, though plans to do as others have done to modify or ‘retrofit’ these plentiful outdated models in case of wartime need have been discussed behind closed doors. One cannot also ignore the presence of the just as common ‘shoddy technicals’ wrought from the platform this vehicle provides, though these are most often seen in far-fringe, very poor, the rarer pirate-held, or even rather rural worlds depending on the place and part of the galaxy and former imperium of the Yrrani Empire one is in or comes from.
A rapidly moving armored troop transport meant to move about in urban and wilderness areas and such alike to bring supplies, crew-manned weapons, and a range of 6-16 troops onto the battlefield and off of it again. It deploys a combination of lighter armor and energy shielding to increase its carrying capacity and speed notably compared to models of APC/AUV seen in the Late Period of the Yrrani Empire. It utilizes a mounted and manned (can be optionally remote-operated) Heavy Dual-Mounted Ballistic Machine Gun (HDM-BMG) as a weapon, one capable of providing suppressive fire to troops exiting the vehicle as well as firing on enemy infantry and light-armored targets with a ‘primitive’ but still rather effective level of firepower. Harpoon-like anchors on the sides of the vehicle (3 on each side; 6 total) can hold the vehicle in place to stabilize it rather well if horrible enough if high winds or such environmental hazards necessitate their use as well, though on several occasions ‘creative use’ of these has been recorded in the field….with mixed results in such cases in particular.
The original designs for this line of UID-brand vehicles originated within the territory that would become the United Idkaran Dominion, being among its first ‘in-house-developed’ designs, with the first of its kind emerging into service roughly 255 years after the start of the “Century of Strife”. It differs from Late Period designs seen in the Imperial Military of the Yrrani Empire by the time of its collapse in several ways, both trading heavier armor and laser-based weaponry for improved size, speed, and improved capacity for troops. While ballistic ammunition was considered ‘more primitive’ even within the Late Empire, for the future UID this design was both far more feasibly economical to produce and likewise still proved rather effective in general combat scenarios both offensive and defensive alike. Fast-forward a few hundred years more to current times, and this basic premise of design for a general ground-based APC-capable utility vehicle would improve in both technological specs while not much changing in its layout and design barring some occasional experiments in design philosophy along the way.
Multi-Role Anti-Gravity High-Speed Mobile Weapons Platform (MRAGHS-MWP)
A mobile ground-based combat platform, capable of being mounted with a small range of weapons and other equipment or tools for assistance in planetary combat or military actions on-planet. Rocket pods, anti-aircraft weaponry, artillery guns, mortars, cranes, storage space, and so forth are among the versatile pieces that can be equipped to the vehicle, though it is primarily a combat-oriented vehicle most of the time. In that role it usually focuses on high speed movement to deliver payloads before moving onward to the next target or to avoid enemy retaliation. While it can be equipped and often is equipped with point defense and similar measures, including its hardy but light armor and stronger shield generator combination that helps make it so mobile in the first place, these are not always implemented due to the mobile nature of the platform in its usual modes of implementation.
Still of note that other more specialized designs for support vehicles are used within the UID, though for flexibility this platform can be used in a pinch or drawn-out planetary campaigns when other such equipment cannot be brought in or make it to the front lines. Etc.
A well-protected craft for transitioning between planetary environments and outer space, with powerful thrusters, VTOL capabilities, tough exterior armor, and a general array of defensive measures including (but not limited to) point defense, thermal insulation, radiation shielding (a standard in spacebound craft of the UID), emergency shield generator and an anti-psionic lining on the inside (etc).
Elite Ground Personnel Transport Vehicle (EGPTV)
A vehicle employed on-planet by Military Police and local Reserve Centers for military reserves, while a lesser-armed and armored version is employed by elite police forces on the local level. Can carry 12-18 personnel onboard. Wheels are self-sealing and made to be able to cross even rough terrain. Military-grade versions possess a limited version of a ‘gravitational core’ normally founds on larger MECHS platforms, which combined with the design of the wheels allows these vehicles to cross even vertical and other ‘impossible’ forms of terrain.
A versatile fighter craft mounted with particle beam cannons and a small, angular profile, its defense mostly comes from what armoring it has and a basic military grade shield generator. It is a craft meant to use its weapons to clear up smaller enemy craft, like ‘mechs’ and other fighter craft, as well as use its particle beam weapons to wear down enemy shields or put damage into enemy armor. Usually deployed in large numbers, or in smaller groups during ambushes, they usually are used in tandem with ‘mechs’ on their own side on the average (but not always).
Anti-Gravity Multi-Role Light Ship (AGMR-LS)
A lightly armored, lightly armed, and small crewed vessel with modular capabilities, allowing it to be outfitted to fill various roles on a smaller scale than a frigate. Useful in more confined and crowded combat space, though designed for a wide variety of situations with their potential loadouts, they are used to take down smaller enemy craft, remove mine threats, perform anti-piracy missions, assist in humanitarian and rescue operations, etc. While the likes of the Destroyer were crafted with the idea of combat as their primary scenario despite having multi-role capabilities, though, this type of vessel was made to both help screen the likes of Destroyers and larger craft as well as have a wide variety of applications individually beyond simply just combat.
Anti-Gravity Multi-Role Destroyer, aka “The Flash Drive Destroyer” (AGMR-D)
A modular destroyer with a range of capabilities, from anti-mine and stealth operations to being outfitted for general combat scenarios with options ranging from particle beam weapons, to missiles, to even electromagnetic cannonry in a general sense. However its sophisticated defensive suite, including the standard sorts of protective linings and armoring and a shield generator, aside, the ship’s cybersecurity is infamous for ‘frying’ devices deemed to be dangerous. Hence the unfortunate incident where more than a few soldiers were using a flash drive or such external device and had it immediately fried by the ship’s defense systems, along with damage to the hands or bodies of a few of these. While the issue was ultimately rectified with improvements made to the defense systems, the nicknames of “The Flash Drive Destroyer” or “USSB” that had been given to it had already become common lingo for this type of vessel.
Anti-Gravity Space Combat Battle Carrier MK5 (AGSC-BC MK5)
A combination of carrier and battleship, it both transports and carries a great many smaller craft (‘Mechs’ and Fighter Craft) and likewise boasts a range of high-grade shield generators as well as in-depth point defenses and armoring. These ‘moving fortresses’ were nicknamed such for good reasons indeed, and with their high defenses and variety of high-grade firepower (missiles, electromagnetic cannons, particle beams/lasers, etc) they are hard to take down and could remain out in the field for quite a long time due to the facilities built into them. Also known as the ‘flying cities’ of the UID, they are a mainstay in major space engagements and planetary assaults. Yet while capable of entering and exiting a planet’s atmosphere for special repairs or certain planetary landings alike, they most often remain in space proper and deploy vessels from there while defensively supporting the fleet in those circumstances on-average. One or two might support certain smaller-grade battles, depending on the mission, as well.
Anti-Gravity Space Combat and Orbital Bombardment Cruiser (AGSC-OB-C)
A curious case of older designs for a ‘dreadnaught’ of the Early Imperial Period that were eventually adapted into a modern design for a cruiser. Its armoring is superior to the Battle Carrier outright, but is second only to the Battle Carrier in shielding and point defense (of which it has quite a lot). This long-range and orbital-bombardment-capable, its weapons range from large missile weapons to particle beams to even rail weapons in particular that are capable of firing rounds large enough and strong enough to bombard a planet through its atmosphere in general. These vessels are known best for their superior long-range firepower and ability to provide more precision aiming as well as a ‘sheer volume of saturating fire’ to suppress or carve into enemy forces. A mainstay in major or large enough engagements and orbital bombardment, usually food smaller battles either they will not be present or be present in a small handful as heavy firepower and support for the main spacecraft involved in such a battle/engagement.
General-Purpose Military Cargo Vessel (GP-MCG)
A general purpose vessel used to carry cargo, both onto and off of planets as well as between locations in space. A larger sister to the G-PERCC, it is more often used for larger loads of cargo and troops and such while the G-PERCC is most often used for smaller loads. It is larger and more heavily armored and protected than its smaller relative as well, between its armoring, general defensive linings, and larger emergency shield generator.
((Summary: 19 meters tall. General spaceborne mech platform, which uses equipment carried into combat and a standardized design. Uses dense armor and a shield generator, as well as some anti-psionic lining, radiation shielding, electrical insulation, thermal shielding, and the like. Possesses a powerful set of thrusters for movement. Uses one of the MECHS forms of controlling the unit. Used for planetary landings on G-PERCC or other form of military planetary transition type craft. Carries handheld weapons, some of which can be magnetically attached to its legs or arms to be carried into battle as well, and can utilize a built-in concealed plasma sword for melee or cutting apart obstacles (sword is like a giant super plasma blade, which is contained and controlled by a magnetic field produced by the hilt). Plasma sword can be used in-atmosphere, but underwater or in a liquid medium that dissipates heat more or less effectively its effectiveness is lower and reduced. Possesses a ‘gravitational core’, or a device meant to manipulate and control the platform’s personal gravitational field and thus not only allowing it to move about freely in space (as well as counteract recoil to some extent) but also even move about just as freely and smoothly on a planet if so desired by the pilot.
Is gradually being phased out for the MK3.7, though both these and a shorter variant are seeing continued use in non-combat or engineering support roles and around space stations as well within the military. Further, even shorter and downgraded civilian-derivative models have been developed for use and been implemented with general success by this point in time as well. Some surpluses of the units have already begun to form as the MK3.7 has become more widespread and better understood/introduced.))
((Summary: 16 meters tall. General spaceborne mech combat platform, which uses equipment carried into combat and a standardized design. Uses dense armor and an improved shield generator, as well as improved anti-psionic lining, radiation shielding, electrical insulation, more advanced thermal shielding, and the like. Possesses a more nuanced and powerful set of thrusters for movement. Uses one of the MECHS forms of controlling the unit. Used for planetary landings on G-PERCC or other form of military planetary transition type craft. Carries handheld weapons, some of which can be magnetically attached to its legs or arms to be carried into battle as well, and can utilize a built-in concealed plasma sword for melee or cutting apart obstacles (sword is like a giant super plasma blade, which is contained and controlled by a magnetic field produced by the hilt). Plasma sword can be used in-atmosphere, but underwater or in a liquid medium that dissipates heat more or less effectively its effectiveness is lower and reduced. Possesses a ‘gravitational core’, or a device meant to manipulate and control the platform’s personal gravitational field and thus not only allowing it to move about freely in space (as well as counteract recoil to some extent) but also even move about just as freely and smoothly on a planet if so desired by the pilot. Can re-enter and exit the planet’s atmosphere safely on its own, compared to its previous/older version.
Has roughly replaced about 61% of existing MK3 platforms by the current point in time.))
((Summary: 19 meters tall. General spaceborne mech platform, which uses equipment carried into combat and a standardized design. Uses armor and a shield generator, as well as radiation shielding, electrical insulation, and the like. Possesses a powerful set of thrusters for movement. Uses one of the psionic-inclined MECHS forms of controlling the unit. Carries handheld weapons, some of which can be magnetically attached to its legs or arms to be carried into battle as well, and can utilize a built-in concealed plasma sword for melee or cutting apart obstacles (sword is like a giant super plasma blade, which is contained and controlled by a magnetic field produced by the hilt). Plasma sword can be used in-atmosphere, but underwater or in a liquid medium that dissipates heat more or less effectively its effectiveness is lower and reduced. Possesses a ‘gravitational core’, or a device meant to manipulate and control the platform’s personal gravitational field and thus not only allowing it to move about freely in space (as well as counteract recoil to some extent) but also even move about just as freely and smoothly on a planet if so desired by the pilot.
Uniquely made with tech and materials that amplifies pilot psionic capabilities and their range while in use. Is in the later stages of being phased out in favor of the MK3.5 Type-F, which is the latest design for a psionic mech from a special project to be developed and understood to the point of making a standardized format for the new platform. Doesn’t use anti-psionic lining due to the psionic pilot and their amplified strength in the unit being stronger than that (which otherwise as a rule is installed into all manned vehicles of the UID). Possesses psionic sensors on top of other mundane forms of detection. Among its usable weapon types, as with its successor, include psionically-guided missiles and psionically-guided antimatter-warhead ‘bullets’ among other things. In the case of the MK3, though, among its optional weapons was a unique one that took the form of a special ‘hub’ container attached to it. Said container contained psionically-controlled railgun-mounted drones that could be deployed to attack and return to their ‘mother unit’ to recharge….though these had to be simpler due to being a ‘weapon that can be attached and taken off off the unit’ and likewise due to this requirement had some issues and added vulnerabilities. As a concept, however, this optional weapon of the MK3 has been far improved in its successor as a built-in feature of sorts now.))
((Summary: 17 meters tall. General spaceborne mech platform, which uses equipment carried into combat and a standardized design. Uses armor and a shield generator, as well as radiation shielding, electrical insulation, and the like. Possesses a more nuanced and powerful set of thrusters for movement. Uses one of the psionic-inclined MECHS forms of controlling the unit. Carries handheld weapons, some of which can be magnetically attached to its legs or arms to be carried into battle as well, and can utilize a built-in concealed plasma sword for melee or cutting apart obstacles (sword is like a giant super plasma blade, which is contained and controlled by a magnetic field produced by the hilt). Plasma sword can be used in-atmosphere, but underwater or in a liquid medium that dissipates heat more or less effectively its effectiveness is lower and reduced. Possesses a ‘gravitational core’, or a device meant to manipulate and control the platform’s personal gravitational field and thus not only allowing it to move about freely in space (as well as counteract recoil to some extent) but also even move about just as freely and smoothly on a planet if so desired by the pilot. Can re-enter and exit the planet’s atmosphere safely on its own, compared to its previous/older version.
Uniquely made with tech and materials that amplifies pilot psionic capabilities and their range while in use. It also has a built-in weapon called the “Shard”, of which it carries six, which are psionically-controlled drone-type units with a powerful built-in particle beam weapon and thrusters attached. These small profile and highly maneuverable pieces of tech are uniquely tied to the mech and attuned to the pilot and each have their own built-in power source and gravitational core to boot. The unit, however, also can now have a weapon additionally attached to the center of its back….in the example pic’s case being a tri-rail railgun attached to the center of its back. Improved nuanced controls, power efficiency, psionic sensors, and speed/maneuverability are among its other improvements over the basic Mk3. Doesn’t use anti-psionic lining due to the psionic pilot and their amplified strength in the unit being stronger than that standard defensive-type material (which otherwise as a rule is installed into all manned vehicles of the UID).
Has replaced roughly 77% of existing MK3’s by the current point in time.))
((Note: Color scheme of units is/should be black by design, other colorations of the example pics will be designated as just being some form of ‘training unit type colors’ made to ensure visibility when practicing and such.))
((Note to Self: Describe what Project Annani is here in more detail. Was made to develop next-generation mecha with advanced technologies, working to create both effective weapons and new MECHS combat platforms in the long-term. Currently there’s a set of twelve next-generation mecha that have been tweaked, piloted, and tested rigorously in and outside of combat scenarios, etc.))
Basic UID Soldier/Infantry
Soldiers wear the standard ‘protective muscle suit’ over the uniform, which comes with an airtight integrated combat gas/anti-chemical rebreather, before donning lighter and tough-made exoskeletal-type combat armor over the top of this. Soldier uniforms also usually have a similar type of ‘package protection’ as the ‘standard defensive package’ integrated into manned vehicles (mostly). Meanwhile some aspects of the ‘standard defensive package’, such as armoring/kinetic protection, are either added redundancies in or are instead incorporated into an underlying self-repairing ‘combat muscle suit’ and the combat armor proper.
Exoskeleton UID Soldier/Infantry
Soldiers that utilize a heavier-duty integrated combat exoskeleton, one which is both useful in moving battlefield obstacles and such in the middle of combat as well as being suited to protecting soldiers against even more dangerous environmental scenarios. Forms of the suit for the Engineering Corps are also in existence for use in moving materials and performing similarly hard labor under potentially dangerous or rough conditions. The exosuit is, as with other technologies integrated into standard soldier combat equipment and armor(s), mostly self-contained aside from the usage of comms and in some cases interconnected quantum-encrypted channels between teammates created using several quantum entanglements.
Basic and Exoskeleton UID Ranger Corps (Respectively)
Basic UID Marine
Exoskeleton UID Marine
Basic UID Psi-Corps Soldier
Exoskeleton UID Psi-Corps Soldier
(Room left for potential later additions)
History:
For the UID, everything began with the rule of one inspired and genius ruler of the old Yrrani Empire: The “Tyrant Emperor” or “Genius Emperor” also known as “Emperor Yrran”. The third in the final dynasty of the Yrrani Empire, it was during Yrran’s hotly-debated reign that something known covertly as “Project Reservoir” began in secret underneath his rule. A long-term project known only to the few trusted hands around him at most, including the head of the Imperial Guardians and each future Emperor after they took the throne as a general rule of thumb, it was a project focused on ‘preserving the imperial family and Yrrani species’ in a future time period Yrran saw as, as noted in his own journal:
“[Ever] inevitably leading to the Empire’s eventual fall as things get bad again, and even worse so I believe, to the point that it cannot hope to be sustainable anymore. What I’ve wrought to curb this future and buy time for those yet to come has polarized many, and caused the loss of a great many lives, and yet in the end even it couldn’t go far enough in my mind. Yet, ultimately, it also goes to show that even the means by which I managed much of my desired reforms had to go through the means and hands of the very corruption within the Empire I wish I could do away with. Poetic, perhaps? Ah, such are my thoughts on the matter at least.
Project Reservoir, to return to the main point of this entry, is a move to ensure that something of my species survives beyond this future I have foreseen.….even though it will never again be the Empire itself. Nor do I belive what comes from this work of mine should be, for that matter, seeking back toward all of this and what it will be….even for the imperium and mistakes of their forebears. So it is my hope to progress this project and its effort along and structure things that, in the case some of my own descendants fall prey to the status quo of a drying system, those who come after myself may not tarnish it. This project is to forge a capsule taken out of time, out of the chaos of this crumbling Empire, to both preserve life and foster it toward a more enlightened future and path. Either way, it is a work of vanity by most definitions that shall be in the hands of the trusted few to perhaps ensure its viability and security.”
Some would say that Emperor Yrran had the gift of foresight by the time his reign ended, though the Imperial Palace never let out any official press or word about the matter. Others simply said he was a very observant and calculating individual, a shrewd mind that was undeniably a once-in-several-generations genius who had also gained quite the political acumen of his own by the time of his passing. Yet even the fourth longest-reigning emperor in the Yrrani Empire’s history, one way or another, would certainly leave a sort of legacy for the generations to come in a sense. His oldest son, eventually to be nicknamed the “Austere Emperor”, would then take the throne as his father had helped arrange for him.
Alongside his surviving but rather old mother, who still had enough of her wits and such about her, the Austere Emperor would take his father’s teachings to heart….though living in the shadow of his reputation and trying to live up to his father’s legacy in part helped make him an incredibly strict person at his core. Even so, when it came to the Empire and Project Reservoir he invested much into each and laid down further foundations for importing ‘the brightest minds’ and a great deal of technologies into systems designated for the project and its newly-designated capital of “Tar Yrri” as it was so named in his day. Certainly it was a great feat, and his did manage a few small reforms elsewhere within the Empire, but in the end he would find himself making a few too many enemies of his father’s old corrupt-side allies and pushing his own heir too hard in turn while also managing to alienate and ignore him somewhat at the same time. Such was the case of his heir’s upbringing, then, that said heir fell more and more towards the willing attention of the empire’s factions.
So it would be that the grandson of Yrran would, eventually, ascend to the throne as the “Party Emperor” or “Ignorant Emperor” in his own time. He became famous for turning a few ‘core worlds’ near the capital into ‘literal personal resorts and playthings of the nobility’ as he mostly often left rule and management of a number of affairs to the head of the Imperial Guardians or other corrupt politicians and factions below him. It was during his much more ‘hands off’ reign that he favored the corrupt parts of the Empire even more so rather than what his grandfather and father had done previously, allowing them to regrow back into old niches while the head of the Imperial Guardians (a leftover leader from his grandfather’s reign even) neglected to pass the secret of Project Reservoir on to him as a personal call and diverted resources into it. Then, once the Party Emperor passed the affairs onto his own just about as chaotic heir, who sought to pretend he was a soldier, the truth of the project would skip another generation of the throne by choice as the next head of the Imperial Guardians was put in place by his own predecessor due to the lackadaisical nature of running things at the time.
This was, at least, before the Party Emperor’s youngest granddaughter proved a more sober ruler than her two ancestors after a hard childhood and the either disinterest or deaths of the other in-line-for-the-throne relatives she had around her. Her rise to the throne was a mostly non-surprise to those who knew the goings-on behind the throne, and while it did involve some engineering and corruption it also came mostly as a response to the decline of some imperial matters underneath her own father that had alarmed more than a few of the Empire’s factions. An emperor that was easy to handle, as the Party Emperor had been, was acceptable. An emperor going off-the-rails and pissing off most factions in the opposite way as his own grandfather had? That was unacceptable enough. Yet most important was the sitting Empress being brought in on Project Reservoir and seeking to pick up the slack her predecessors had left with regards to it and ‘restoring some sense of sobriety’ to the Imperial Palace and throne in the eyes of a great many to boot. Yet, in the end, she would also leave her mark for the future in other ways.
Unlike most Emperors and Empresses, she simply had one husband and two children….a very abnormal phenomenon to be sure compared to the many children of those who had come before her. Both children ending up being sons, then, and with what power she had and would manage to get a grip back upon during her reign she would choose her sickly younger son to succeed her over the expectations of her more popular older son. Such came after a fair amount of a ‘family rift’ grew between her and her older son, and her hope was that her wiser younger son would at least be able to further Project Reservoir compared to his older brother who had flocked to winning attention and support within the political factions. She saw her oldest son as a risk to the project and plan, though while exiling and disowning her older son from the Empire’s borders she could tell it wasn’t going to be a very successful measure in the long run after she would eventually pass on herself. The factions were still vying, her younger son’s health was already sickly as it was, and in this vein she sought to embolden the Imperial Guardians and purge their ranks as she waxed on in years.
This sickly younger son would, then, become the last successfully sitting Emperor and be nicknamed the “Sickly Emperor” for his troubles. Sickly because he was often sick and weak of body, even if his mind was noted as being bright, and while able to hold some level of power with the help of the head of the Imperial Guardians would find himself even more politically isolated than before as the factions sought to exploit his weakness. His first wife would even sell out to the factions for their loyalty in the end, with his three oldest kids born to her being taken by three of the biggest factions at her behest to be ‘cared for and raised with the highest standards’ and secure political loyalties to her on their part. Yet unplanned by her was her sudden death due to complications during giving birth to her third child, leading to the Sickly Emperor getting a second wife and bearing two more children by her who were kept to be raised at the Imperial Palace proper this time. These remaining two children would be raised with much oversight by the Emperor himself, as well as be watched over by the bulk of the remaining loyal central and upper parts of Imperial Guardians (as parts of it had become increasingly corrupt at lower levels thus far). However, the matter of succession still was expected to fall to his oldest son, a boy who was distant from his father and had been both raised in opposition to him and instilled with the idea that the throne should have been given to him already and frankly earlier than normal due to his father’s sickly nature and ‘ill fit for a ruler’.
Meanwhile, the Sickly Emperor would take the older of the two children he had with his second wife to manipulate and raise her with the intent to forge her covertly into a ‘proper heir’....though an ‘heir to what’ at this rate he was beginning to wonder for himself. His oldest wouldn’t readily give up the throne for sure, and the amount of control and authority he had over matters had already been declining across the span of his reign behind closed doors as it was with him merely clinging tightly onto what he had left. Yet even then, with what authority and such he had left, he put all he had left into Project Reservoir that he could and sought to expand it as he, in his eyes: “Saw the end Yrran did, even as it was coming hastily toward us like a charging Vulderbeast.” Yet even with this in mind, it was natural that the “Sickly Emperor” also couldn’t prevent the return of his older brother during his reign as well, both invited back by some of the larger factions with ‘amnesty’ given him for ‘the actions of a mad and irrational mother and their injustices’. It was he who still seemed to have many ears bent toward him even since his exile, and the brewing of a storm between him and the Sickly Emperor’s oldest seemed to be brewing beneath the surface of Tar Yrra’s politics at that.
In the end, the Sickly Emperor would make a fateful decision upon realizing that he was going to die sooner than later from his personal physicians. He would send off the two of his children, his beloved second wife (who these two had been born to), and most of the remaining loyal parts of the Imperial Guardians and their central command (alongside some other loyal officials and such more covertly so) off on ‘a much needed vacation’ according to most sources as information was kept tight about their whereabouts for the most part. Not something strange, for the Emperors and Empresses or parts of their families to go on a tour somewhere or vacation, though it turned out to be a timely departure as four days later the Sickly Emperor’s oldest son approached him one evening with a pillow in his hands after coming to ‘talk to him one last time’ and ‘hoping to reconcile’. Naturally, the morning the fifth day after the others had left, the Emperor was found ‘tragically killed’ in his bed,with his oldest son coming out to publicly proclaim the suspects were his two half-siblings and father’s second wife who ‘had taken much and run off to hide from their ill deeds’ in his and his conspirators’ words. While he and his son hadn’t ever truly been close, though, the Ascendant Emperor would still claim to have ‘reconciled with my ill-minded father before this’ and frankly put on the usual lavish state funeral for his father and such as he moved to curry more support for his ascension to the throne. He would continue to grease palms, see plans to kill off those he had accused and the notable chunk of the Imperial Treasury that had disappeared mysteriously with them, and with the death several years ago of his formelry-exiled uncle from an accident he felt more secure than ever about being able to ‘dispose of’ his remaining female cousin (his uncle’s only child) who he saw as a lesser threat. All he needed to do, then, was worry about preparing for his ascension after the proper mourning period and publicity stunts to get more people on his side. That and grease the right palms and so forth….yes, his rise was a certainty. With a large portion of the remaining Imperial Guardians, mostly lower ranks, seemingly in his pocket he also felt that a potential assassination would be hard to pull off at best.
It was also during this time the Ascendant Emperor and his co-conspirators, as he prepared for taking the throne, would manage to uncover the existence of Project Reservoir in a sense as they sought information left behind of where the rest of the late imperial family had fled to in earnest. Simply coming across a message that couldn’t be deleted in time before the others had left, it referred to a ‘set of security systems’ they might have fled to. Mentions of a ‘safe haven’ and ‘project’ were also dug up in connection with this. While more work to follow their trail remained, however, the Ascendant Emperor sought to be enthroned before he dug any deeper or could ‘publicly’ make more of a move against his other family members. This was because he indeed was counting on his coronation to take power formally, and thus give him much more room to pursue them than he had in his current state. Yet overall it seemed, for the most part, as if nothing could go wrong much at this point. He had effective control of the palace, most of the remaining Imperial Guardians and many Senators and even some of the military in-pocket directly-speaking, and the like!
Yet it would be the Ascendant Emperor’s cousin, the one who could become the so-called “Usurper Empress”, who would come to prove that the Ascendant Emperor had far less of the empire secured for himself than he thought. His former cast-out uncle had been working hard since his exile, and especially during his return, to prepare a means to seize the throne for himself and his line. This, at least, had built up enough steam before the uncle’s own death had shifted the plan to putting his daughter on the throne as she came to lead it all out of the blue. Such it would be that, on the day of the Ascendant Emperor’s supposed coronation, before he could walk into the palace to be crowned his own cousin’s agents cut him down in broad daylight and her soldiers moved to take over the palace in a hurry while unofficially but publicly declaring her the ‘rightful Empress’ and seeking to assert such on her part. Cue, then, the chaos that ensued as the ‘illegitimate self-proclaimed usurper’ was enough of a reason for the other two oldest siblings of the late Sickly Emperor and their factions to make a move for the throne as a perfect reason for doing so simply sat in their laps from the looks of it. Likewise the Ascendant Emperor’s conspirators would resist or defect in the process, and then the chaos on Tar Yrra spread further as multiple moves and schemes erupted across the major political factions in a cascade effect. Indeed, the roiling depths of corruption within the Empire would finally catch alight into an open and cataclysmic civil war that would come to be known as the “Century of Strife”.
During this time, the knowledge the Ascendant Emperor and his people had been digging into would come to be acquired by the “Usurper Empress” and her own conspirators. Yet as the ongoing civil war as major factions and other players within the Empire turned on each other became a far more pressing issue than first imagined by any of the sides, it would crash into the near-extinction of the Yrrani species and saw the bloody death of the Empire itself in the end. Not a cry or a whimper, but an apocalyptic fall from grace that saw the Yrrani made extinct in many places as secessionists and empire-reclaiming hopefuls and beyond also rose up during this century. Yet even as the Usurper Empress seemed to eventually ‘disappear’,, and the homeworld went silent as its millenia-long-built-up Planetary Defense System was somehow turned on to boot, the information the Usurper Empress had inherited and gained somehow ‘leaked’ off of Tar Yrra and to elsewhere by unknown means and individuals. It would end up going from file to file and word of mouth to word of mouth, and a grand ‘telephone game’ would commence from there with regards to the information in the long run.
Truth about a cluster of systems a portion of the late Imperial Family of the last sitting Emperor might’ve gone to hide out to, then, would be frankly lost to the chaos of the times. It would instead turn into a misunderstanding of ‘safe haven’ in the long-run being ‘a cache or bunker for the Imperial Family that was hidden about somewhere’. This information turned into a ‘state secret’ in some places, who thought they knew the truth, while others saw the tale turned more widely into motivation for dozens and dozens of prospective scavengers and treasure hunters and wealth-rich seekers spreading out to find this ‘great prize’ hidden within the corpse of the collapsed Empire (and assumed to be in the old core of the empire somewhere). Yet none in the end would know the full truth….at least excluding those who had survived in the ‘safe haven’ wrought by Project Reservoir.
Indeed, the cluster of systems used for the project would come to be the more widely-applicable ‘safe haven’ its final contributor had sought to change it into. While this work in those final years was a move considered ‘last second’ in the overall scheme of things, it was successful enough to preserve the Yrrani species in some capacity at the very least as they disappeared from most of the wider galaxy at large. Further, the Yrrani were but only one among the several species that seemed to have been integrated into the project’s systems and worlds as humans and others had been brought in as a sort of ‘time capsule’ to, in the words of the Sickly Emperor: “Preserve the heritage of many, even as things cascade[d] down and eagerly toward an inevitable end around us. All so that a newer, brighter future may be sought in the eras to come.”
Indeed, the cluster of systems of Project Reservoir would work to ‘begin again’ by the time of the Great Fall as the daughter of the last sitting Emperor took up the mantle of rulership in the wake of the great century of death erupting into being within the wider galaxy beyond them. From the surface of the future capital of a kingdom, and the capital having also been renamed “Tar Idkar” by this point, these former remnants of the old Empire would begin down a path different from those who would rise up aspiring for or stuck looking back upon the glory days and history alike of the now-dead Empire. From them and their efforts, and the coming generations of new intermingling species fostered within the initial safe haven, a new constitutional monarchy rose gradually from the ashes of the old Empire. Yet the advanced technology of the new capital that had been built up for generations, and bright minds alike that had been brought there for just as long, would also work to transform the new post-Empire state in terms of prosperity and might alike. Thus the new “United Idkaran Dominion” would come into being over the long-term of those following centuries beyond the fall of the Empire.
Even so, this new safe haven emerging from its cocoon did also seek to avoid detection or being seen as a greater threat if possible. This came alongside distancing itself from the old Empire in title as well as name to boot. Such was part of the overall defensive policy of things in general for the UID, even as it would eventually begin to expand bit by bit in terms of territory eventually during the Great Fall. In the wake of this also came much in the way of seeking to repair the fires of the “Century of Strife” in places where peoples still clung on to life as it expanded, though monuments and memorials and such would also arise as former great battlefields and worlds devoid of sapient life were also come across. History was not something to become lost in, but was to be a teacher for those who were yet to come, though varying opinions would still arise about the old Empire in general within the UID regardless. Overall, however, the UID would seek a sort of neutral stance and observational approach to things when it came to neighbors despite the occasional conflict with others or seeking to purge pirates, among other things.
What the UID didn’t expect to happen, however, was the eventual rediscovery of Tar Yrra….intact of all things. The old capital. The jewel of the crown of the old Empire. A place that, in the end, many factions sought to fight over and failed to secure four times over. A place that, if captured, could lead to a new Empire rising or potentially the destruction of everything that had arisen since the end of the old Empire. That….that could be a problem, but one that couldn’t be simply solved with the ‘most direct route’ outright either perhaps. Further, to take that world, on anyone’s part, would also surely be seen inevitably by the rest of the galaxy as a huge grab for power for sure even if made with supposedly the ‘best intentions’.
Such was the severity of the matter and its risks that, even if barely at first, the UID government in the end barely chose to take a continued neutral status in the ensuing Reclamation Wars. Instead, then, it cast aside direct participation in favor of espionage, the analysis of battle wreckage and fights, and seeking to watch the actions of those involved rather than diving into the carnage themselves outright. Not all were happy with this within the UID, though many others were simply glad to avoid more wars, but regardless of public and politician opinions the UID would in the end become involved in some capacity at the end of the latest Reclamation War in a manner of speaking. It would volunteer to host peace talks and the armistice at the end of the latest Reclamation War. This came after calls for ending the latest conflict, which themselves were made by the multinational organization that had arisen within the wake of the fallen Empire: The (insert Space UN title here).
From here, and managing to keep to a policy of general neutrality through it all in the end, after the Fourth Reclamation War the UID would take part in the multinational ships and soldiers and stations protecting the buffer of the ‘neutral zone’ designated around Tar Yrra and its home system. Such would also be used as a partial excuse, really, to keep building up its own military in a general sense as it had already been doing. Yet not wanting others to take the old capital was certainly just one part of the reason to keep others from getting near that planet. With the autonomous Planetary Defense System of Tar Yrra having also been activated all those centuries around, it seemed, even entering the home system of the former Imperial Capital was a death sentence to most anything within sight of the literally titanic defense grid.
Even so, however, to the UID it was clear they couldn’t allow Tar Yrra to simply fall into the hands of just anyone….especially certain parties, from the looks and sounds of it, who had participated in the Reclamation Wars. Toss in, then, the UID’s own retained ‘secret knowledge’ of a number of some much greater dangers secretly stored down there on the surface of the old capital? It was more than mere weapons and technology that posed a danger, either to someone taking the old capital or otherwise, if they got off-world or were ‘released’ somehow. It could spell disaster for perhaps even the rest of the galaxy as a whole in some cases….
((Note: Some excerpts of history, and many of the rewrites made by me in an attempt to get this down into the app proper, were not included in this due to sheer length and sometimes being rambling.))
Other:
Back during the early days of the Empire, there was an organization that would arise within the government that was tasked with investigating and studying 'anomalous matters' within the Empire that had been coming to the attention of the government at various levels. Originally a contingent of the government that was tied to the authority of the military and certain universities in a ramshackle manner, mostly to arrange its creation in an era where its existence was new and not very well understood yet, it took on the name of the "Military Anomalous Investigation Bureau" (MAIB) and for years was under the military's primary jurisdiction with several notable universities and some government researchers semi-independently assisting under its purview at the time. While this model would at least function for a while, though, it would see occasional reform until eventually a series of events known as the "Containment Breaches of 799" would lead to several cascading disasters regarding the organization and its by-then struggling performancce. In the aftermath the orgnaization would be rebuilt from the ground up and ultimately be elevated by the "August Empress", Empress Yrissa, and made into an independent Empire-wide organization of its own after years of struggling to work effectively due to the odd nature of its existence. Taking on the name of the "Imperial Bureau of Anomalies" (IBA) at this time, it's effectivness would rise drastically in the coming centuries as its semi-independent nature and built-in authority would allow it to, in this case at least, function more efficiently and avoid much of the beauracracy of the growing and eventually declining Empire (though some officials or nobles attempted to change this one way or another at times, though one way or another these attempts would fail in the end as well by some chance or other means) and to do its primary job of 'keeping the citizenry of the Empire safe, while seeking to understand and contain anomalies that seem to defy known sciences or such like things'. Much of the time the organization went ignored unless a major anomaly or such arose to disrupt things, though further reform or reorganization was certainly not going to avoid happening either over the centuries of the Empire.
During the time of Emperor Yrran of the final dynasty of the Yrrani Empire, however, the organization would become more connected to the throne after he took matters of the organiszation's management partly into the throne's hands during the cascade of his reforms and the internal restructurings and purges alike. This also came at a time where several of the Empire's political factions were vying to, almost sucessfully, to carve up influence over the organization by once again trying to pass laws to place some of their politicians in authority over branches of the organization and its facilities in some part (etc). Essentially 'saving' the IBA at this time, Yrran's heir would follow in shielding the organization in turn while instead the head of the Imperial Guardians would be left to give imperial oversight of the organization both formally and at least effectively so under the reigns of the two emperors following this (even the Party Emperor and his child at least, if nothing else, didn't trust the factions that much despite his far more hands-off attitude or just didn't care about this connection enough to not delegate it off lazily, etc). By the time of the mother of the later "Sickly Emperor" rising to power and his reign thereafter, and resumption of the management of Project Reservoir by an actual sitting Emperor/Empress, the organization began to gradually relocate facilities and suchh covertly to the site of the project out of concern over 'misuse of contained anomalies', among other things admittedly, before the fall of the Empire. However, the HQ of the organization would be the slowest in this matter in some part, and with the death of the Sickly Emperor the aspiring Ascendant Emperor put soldiers stationed around the IBA's HQ in a silent but bold claim to ownership over it. This made attempting to move any further personnel or anomalies nigh impossible, though with the assassination of the aspiring Ascendant Emperor, and chaos of the "Century of Strife" that rose in the attempted coup of the Usurper Empress, the headquarters would be abandoned by most remaining personnel as a last-ditch effort to move things out in the wake of the new conflict seemed to be the most viable matter.
In the chaos of the planned evacuation, which had to be done in haste due to Imperial Factions on the homeworld looking on the organization as a potential 'asset' but were fighting each other first, the last known sitting Director of the IBA would die (and appoint a new one in his stead before dying, as those outside of the UID wouldn't know) before the rest of the evacuees went about fleeing on the few ships to escape Tar Yrra. This initial period, of the ultimately apocalyptic century-long civil war, was indeed their seemingly only chance to get out while they still could. To the credit of those who escaped, though, the ships that escaped would make it to the site of Project Reservoir before a lengthy process of being cross-examined before being allowed in. (However, the old HQ would be locked down....and who knows what soldiers or such tried to force their way in, or what horrors might've been unleashed or left behind along with everything else on Tar Yrra....and some of that needs to stay locked up,perhaps, etc.)
From here, the remnants of the IBA would eventually reform into the Dominion Anomaly Investigation Bureau (DAIB) as the UID itself also eventually coalesced into being from those that populated and controlled the systems of Project Reservoir. And here it has remained until this day.
Current Director of the DAIB: Klara V. Clark
((A hider to contain a list of anomalies contained, stored, or known about by the DAIB. Super WIP, it will be added to as ideas for anomalies pop up in my head or maybe people give me ideas too. Etc.))
Anomaly 642, the "Omnicidally Angry Teapot" - An anomaly that takes the form of a teapot seemingly carved in mostly one pieces out of some kind of jade-like alien mineral substance. It was originally located on the third moon of Argyll IV, after travelers passing close enough nearby to it began to report sometimes hearing an 'angry voice' shouting at them in their minds and the reports eventually were noted and tracked by the original IBA. The agent who pieced the reports together was originally seen as crazy for suggesting a connection to the moon, given the disparate and time-separated nature of these reports, but ties with a local legend in the Argyll system about 'the angry moon' among locals of the fringe system lined up with it as well. Tentatively a team was sent to investigate, and scans of the moon indicated the existence of a non-natural structure under the surface of the moon....even if a rather small, house-like one. Agents also began to exhibit hereforeto unknown levels of agression and frustration the closer they got to the site as well, eventually leading to several breaking out into a fight and the use of emergency sedatives to those affected. Upon arrival at the discovered site by the remaining three, who struggled to resist even worse so as they got there, a set of peculiar ruins were found that seemed as if they were carved into the depths of the uninhabitable moon itself in one contiguous piece using seemingly impossible engineering techniques (even by the standards of the Late Empire much much later). In the 'living room' there sat a humble teapot, despite the lower gravity of the moon, on a stone table carved up from the floor. Despite its unknown make and age, however, it seemed to be in perfect condition.
Upon inspection, however, agents were startled by a voice shouting "Boo, ya' pointy ears f*****, haha!". It would be confirmed in the mission debrief, and later after Anomaly 642's storage and formal containment, that it was a seemingly sapient and psionic teapot. Notable about it was its ever-grumpy attitude, and naturally even more notable was its seemingly omnidirectional hatred of all other life. Organic life? Yes. Sapient A.I. and machines? Still hates it. Synthetic or other forms of life? It never seems to skip a beat.
While initial containment of the anomaly sought to isolate the teapot and its psionic profanities and insults, however, it was found that without often enough interactions with sapient organisms it genrated an aura of 'negative emotions' that affected others far, far beyond its location as well as amplified the range of its psionic capabilities. Interaction with the anomaly would, however, seem to reset the range of its psionic abilities and remove the negative emotion aura. This makes logical sense as to why it seemed more legend than fact, and why all known reports on it were spread out so much. It was alone for so long, finally got enough range to interact with the rare passing spacecraft, and the process would be reset and begin anew.
Personnel have thus been assigned to be around it for two hours a day during its containment in order to keep the range and effects of the anomaly to a minimum, especially after anti-psionic material lining proved to be only able to slow its effects down in expanding beyond the containment chamber rather than stopping its effects from doing so. Over the years, though, attempts by some personnel to 'smash the stupid pot', 'vent the asshole into space', and otherwise dispose of it have been made....and every time the pot has been relocated and brought back to be contained again. More emotionally-resilient personnel have thus been assigned to be around it for the most part, though inevitably shifts will be switched around out of some nessecity or due to reassignments/transfers and someone less resilient will be assigned to it in the shifts. While most of these complain, they were also approached prior about the assignment and informed before going on-shift for the first time as per protocol as well. However, while attempts to rotate out personnel to avoid '642 burnout' (as the term has come to be) have been made, every long while someone still tries to dispose of this anomaly. Every time they do so, though, it somehow manages to send a death threat by some means to the sitting Director (even if it is far out of psionic range somehow) and a team is sent to take it back to containment before the troublesome personnel are pulled aside for counseling and potential punishment or medical assitance depending on the circumstances. Recorded in the anomaly's sending of death threats in this sort of scenario, it has used the means of (but is not limited to) the following: Email, messenger craft, drones, avian-carried physically-written messages (a seeming favorite method), notes appearing on the Director's office door out of thin air, and crashing a terrestrial vehicle into the DAIB HQ's front gates while the former organic or A.I. driver was unresponsive and left in a horrific state of depression. Thus it is assumed the psionic abilities of this anomaly are more than simply its aura and telepathic capabilities, but it seems to refuse to exhibit these during any sort of testing or otherwise aside from instances of someone trying to destroy or dispose of it.
The Hierarchy, The Lokoid, The Roaches (Derogatory)
Government
The government is the Ruling Caste. The Hierarch Council disseminates their orders to system regional governors which keeps all systems in line with the will of the hierarchy. The council of hierarchs is made up of five members.
Araq, Supreme Hierarch - Chosen by the Hierarch Council
Kaloth, Hierarch of Commerce - Governs the Commerce Caste
Gorn, Hierarch of Research and Development - Governs the Academic Caste
Dagoth, Hierarch of War - Governs the Soldiery Caste
Zasz, Hierarch of Industry - Governs over mass production
These members of the council all have equal power except for the Supreme Hierarch who supersedes the rest of the council. The council deliberates everything related to running the Hierarchy as a whole and is responsible for the direction of the Hierarchy moving forward.
Demographics
The Lokoid Heirarchy is made up mostly of Lokoid. It is rare to find any other race on Lokoid worlds, especially those not built for the pleasure or leisure targeted towards those of a different race.
Society
From birth, the order of the hierarchy is implemented. Lokoid young hatch from eggs within an egg sack as larvae. The liquids in the sack are consumed, filled with vital nutrients and antibiotics. The weak are eaten and the strong continue to develop. Once the survivors break out of the egg sack, they are taken as nymphs to be educated. Primary education begins, but nothing could prepare the young Lokoids for their second trial. The nymphs, nearing their adolescence, are thrown into the wilderness to survive. Cannibalism is encouraged if it means survival. They are given the lesson, eat or be eaten, the survival of the fittest as they once did when they were larvae. But it was also natural selection as those who fail to adapt die off. The survivors at the end of the month are taken and given secondary education. Their secondary education focuses on the general education of different subjects. Four years later, they are evaluated and if their scores drop below a quota they are euthanized, prepared as food, and is rationed to the rest of the now grown brood.
Usually, the survival rate for Lokoids in their childhood is less than half. Their massive amounts of eggs per-person, however, necessitate this way of population control. The survivors are then given a caste position and specialization training. It is possible to move up in society through individual meritocracy. The weak and the stupid are recycled and eaten. This is vestigial behavior from a more primitive time. The average lifespan of a Lokoid, if allowed to live in ideal conditions, is seventy standard years. However, the oldest known Lokoid was a hierarch who was reported to be 210 standard years old, indicating that in the best conditions the Lokoid can have a surprisingly long lifespan when compared to humans.
The castes themselves are divided into five categories:
The Ruling Caste
The Commerce Caste
The Academic Caste
The Warrior Caste
The Industrial Caste
The ruling caste is composed of the fittest Lokoid, the ones who have displayed amazing intelligence and leadership ability within their respective caste. The ruling caste’s most powerful members are made up of five individuals known as the Hierarch Council. Each individual all have equal power to one another and have different jurisdictions. However, there is always one individual among the five that presides among the five. This individual would come to be known as the supreme hierarch. The representatives themselves are known as, from descending order of caste, the hierarch of commerce, the hierarch of research and development, the hierarch of war, and the hierarch of industry. The supreme hierarch is chosen based on leadership ability and is chosen among the five hierarchs of the ruling caste. Only a majority vote within the council of hierarchs can have the supreme hierarch replaced.
The commerce caste is composed of traders and businessmen. The commerce caste is specifically for those among the Lokoid who display great social skills and have an eye for business. The commerce caste is the primary economic group that provides the Lokoid new business opportunities in the galaxy. They acquire trade licenses, manufacturing patents, design contracts, and more. On top of this, the commerce caste is also responsible for lending and collecting loans, managing budgets and expenses, and conducting audits on the other castes.
The academic caste is composed of Lokoids who display amazing aptitudes for the sciences. The academic caste is responsible for technological gains within the hierarchy. They are in charge of designing new ships and weapons for use in manufacturing. On top of this, they are in charge of scientific advancement in many fields such as botany and particle physics just to name a few. If the commerce caste is equated to a marketing and advertising department then the academic caste is research and development. This is where new products are made and approved. If approved they are handed over to the commerce caste and industrial caste for marketing and mass production.
The warrior caste is responsible for choosing the strongest among the castes and placing them into sub-castes. These sub-castes are divided by merit and intelligence. There are four major sub-castes:
Command Caste - Responsible for NCO’s and command staff
Specialized Caste - Responsible for special operations
Regular Caste - Responsible for regular soldiers and fleet personnel
Support Caste - Responsible for operating equipment and vehicles
These sub-castes are responsible for training and selecting from placed or recruited members of the Soldiery caste. They are the backbone of the militant might of the hierarchy and make use of automated combatants if needed and are a common sight when collecting due debts and in security details.
The industrial caste is the largest among the castes and is where most Lokoid are placed. Some may find their way up the ladder from the industrial caste and into the other bodies of the hierarchy. The industrial caste is the primary workforce of the hierarchy. They are responsible for manufacturing goods, mining, and farming. They are given many avenues to rise up from this rung of society through merit. Pursuing education, displaying high levels of skill or strength, making logical and intelligent decisions, and more. The survival of the fittest and natural selection are at play. Those who do not adapt, stay in the industrial caste and are shackled to a life of service and are loaned as cheap manpower for the rest of the galaxy. Because of the individualistic nature of most Lokoid, this is seen as normal. Those who are left behind are left with basic skills and enough intelligence to do their job.
History
THE UNIFICATION ERA
Many centuries ago when the Yrrani were just stretching themselves across the galaxy as silent, but ever present observers of the stars around them, they came upon the lush yet harsh jungle planet of the Lokoid homeworld, Lokus-III. The Yrrani of before still felt the responsibility to let things develop naturally, they weren't yet the gods that would bring about their own destruction with their own hubris.
They observed the Lokoid who, at this point, had only reached a semi-tribal state with many groups and different ideals. Their society was brutish and barbaric when compared to the Yrrani or any of the other races that the Yrrani had encountered before. The Lokoid were stronger than most other races and preserved a warrior culture through most of the societies that they had formed. The Yrrani were prepared to write off the Lokoid as another primitive, barbaric race that would never amount to anything, that was until they found that the Lokoid were progressing rather quickly for a primitive race. In a span of three decades, they went from stone age technology to figuring out advanced metallurgy. The Yrrani quickly realized that there was potential in the intelligence of the Lokoid race. Some Yrrani xenoanthropologists speculated that the Lokoid were younger than the Yrrani when they first figured out steelcrafts.
However, the Yrrani were once again quickly disappointed to learn that the Lokoid advancement wasn't for the overall benefit or comfort of the Lokoid's people, in fact they seemed to put no effort towards comfort at all and only really cared about hygiene and advancements in medicine. The Lokoid were extremely utilitarian and the reason was because all their effort was geared towards making war. Once again, the more peaceful Yrrani of this period largely wrote off the Lokoid and kept an eye on them to make sure they wouldn't grow out of control. However, in the next century, the Yrrani found themselves in a lot of conflict and the peaceful regimes of the past have all but vanished. The new Yrrani found themselves remembering the Lokoid and their potential as stalwart warriors and within them hatched the idea of turning them into willing auxiliaries.
The Yrrani returned to Lokus-III and found that the Lokoid had changed drastically since they were last observed. The planet itself seems to have seen conflict of immense magnitude, what was once a lush planet was now only dotted with small patches of crimson, the color of their most abundant flora. What was more surprising was the fact that the Lokoid themselves had conglomerated into only one identity, the Heirarchy they called themselves. A civilization that just one century ago was only figuring out steelcrafts had now blossomed into its hyperindustrial age as a supernation on their own planet. What was more surprising was their nearby moons, of which there were three, had all shown signs of exploration. The Lokoid had taken their first steps in exploring space. Seeing this worried the Yrrani, but they didn't need to fret as the Lokoid still retained their fierce warrior culture despite their new disposition. That aggression, that drive, had just simply been channeled into something else.
The leading theory on what had happened to the Lokoid was that in the century the Yrrani had left them, they had undergone significant societal, technological, and military advancements. From the marks of major conflict on their planet, it seems that there were several nations that vied for control of Lokus-III. A battle for the planet ensued and for one reason or another, one faction completely dominated and either subjugated or exterminated the rest. From then on their growth was exponential, reaching heights of technological advancements that other races in the galaxy struggled to even get to in their first few centuries of existence. This suited the Yrrani's goals well, it meant that the Lokoid were fast learners and they would use that to channel their aggression towards the Yrrani's enemies.
THE YRRANI'S "UPLIFTING" MISSION
First contact with the Yrrani was met with aggression, like a foot stepping into an ant nest. The Yrrani, knowing that the Lokoid had no real means of fighting back in any significant way and only understood strength, demonstrated it by glassing their biggest city. Seeing the power of the Yrrani first hand and knowing that they couldn't do anything about the Lokoid had to submit to the superior power. They vowed that the Yrrani would one day pay for humiliating their proud race.
The Yrrani wasted no time in enforcing laws that dictated that the most able-bodied Lokoid warriors were to be trained post haste. The Yrrani gave them weapons technology that they believed only they could create. But they had underestimated the Lokoid mind, they were geniuses at figuring out complex and intricate problems. They viewed Yrrani technology as a challenge to be cracked. The Yrrani themselves also had instances of autonomous AI that the Lokoid had started to admire. The combination of Yrrani technology and raw Lokoid warrior instinct, made the Lokoid Auxiliaries one of the best soldiers in the galaxy and at times better warriors than mainline Yrrani fighters. They were used to subjugate and hold colonial planets in the Yrrani empire and were more professional than their Yrrani counterparts.
Lokoid tactics and strategies were complex and multifaceted, often comprising of several staging operations. The Yrrani recognized their cunning and kept a close eye on their Auxiliaries. However, after years of loyal service and the Lokoid's best attempts at pleasantries, they were gifted hundreds of worlds. The Lokoid had negotiated for it as they said, "More worlds, more Lokoid, more Lokoid, more soldiers, more soldiers, less Yrrani death." The Yrrani, confident that they could crush the Lokoid at any moment and confident in the security of their technology that prevented the Lokoid from turning their weapons against their masters, they allowed them more and more leeway. This is what the Lokoid wanted, to lull the false gods into a false sense of security. Every world they conquered, they studied the technology of the other races; Every peice of Yrrani technology, they studied its form, its function, its effects; Every piece of information, they meticulously tore apart and brought back together.
The Lokoid constructed themselves in secret, hundreds of foundries, fabricators, and ships deep underground their planetary strongholds. They figured out the technology to finally fight back, but the Empire was still too strong. They needed to bide their time and so they did the Yrrani's dirty work up until the Yrrani's civil war.
THE PRICE OF HUBRIS
When the Empire fell into a civil war, both sides turned to the Lokoid to bolster their forces among many others. However, they made a fatal mistake. The Lokoid had prepared for this moment, their forces spread across many Yrrani worlds, their foundries creating hundreds of autonomous weapons of war, hundreds of their warships rising form the hundreds of gifted worlds. The Lokoid had found their opportunity, and they used it.
All across the Empire where the Lokoid were present, the Auxiliaries turned on their Yrrani masters by using weapons that they had created, weapons that had no technology to prevent them from working against the Yrrani. They distributed these weapons to the locals who had been persecuted for too long. Lokoid numbers and the weapons that they fielded cut down the Yrrani in short order. The fleets of Lokoid ships seemed endless as the Yrrani cut down one, only to find another mass of ships appearing out of nowhere. Fleet after fleet, battalion after battalion. The Yrrani on both sides struggled to keep a hold of their systems as they had to fight intense battles everywhere else. Some worlds never received reinforcements, others had to abandon their posts at the sight of five battlegroups.
One century of war. One century of hunting and exterminating Yrrani forces. One century of growing the Lokoid Hierarchy's forces. The Yrrani called who had once called them, "The Terror" for they fell upon their enemies like a tidal wave, now experienced them first hand. It didn't matter whether they could stave off one attack, there was always another. Eventually, the last Yrrani remnants and their allies were wiped away by the endless tide of the Lokoid. The Lokoid then turned to those they had helped free, they understood that a service rendered was a service paid fairly. They left the former Yrrani colonies to themselves, they had wanted freedom most of all and fought for it alongside the Lokoid. It was a business transaction for the Lokoid, one that they could easily make up for later. However, on other worlds where the primary residences were the Yrrani, they claimed those worlds and turned them into Agri-worlds, Factory worlds, Mining worlds, Hab-worlds, and the like. They understood that they needed to reorganize and reorient themselves to sustain a now interstellar nation.
THE RECLAMATION WARS
The Lokoid reorganized and it was a rough few hundred years, but the Lokoid stabilized. They began rubbing elbows with many other races. They were coming to be known as a reliable manufacturer of cheap quality goods and provider of cheap quality labor. However, they were not always welcomed, whether it be their past as auxiliaries for the Yrrani or their alien culture, they met with many mixed reactions.
One of the most violent encounters that they had before the Reclamation wars were with the Augustans. An Empire that the Lokoid now viewed as unreliable business partners. There were many small incidents that led to this and no one really knows what started it. But the leading theory is that it all started with an Augustan noble failing to pay the Lokoid for their services. In response, the Lokoid Banking Union and Trade Commission sent a fleet to repossess their goods or take it back by force. They had hoped the Augustans would see reason after being threatened with escalation. However, the Lokoid were infuriated to learn that other Augustan nobles and members of their military showed up to meet them. The Augustans had the gall to tell the Lokoid that they had lied about not being fairly paid and were now here to extort Augustan nobility.
This confrontation escalated into small border skirmishes that would eventually come to a head in the Reclamation wars. The Reclamation Wars saw many nations and races battle for Tar Yrra. The Lokoid encountered new enemies such as the living trees that called themselves the Mu and old friends such as the Supremites who they assisted during the Yrrani civil war and many more.
The worst of the conflict happened on the Scorched Line. The Scorched Line are a line of star systems that were fiercely contested between the Augustans and the Lokoid. Both sides saw heavy losses and contrary to usual Lokoid doctrine, they had committed considerable resources in contesting these systems against the Augustans because of personal grievances, total loss and profit were not accounted for in the Scorched Line battles and saw the Lokoid deploying their most dangerous weapons of war against the Augustans. In the end, when the 4th Reclamation War ended in an armistice called by the Idkarian Dominion establishing what would come to be known as the interstellar league of nations, the Scorched Line became a demilitarized zone between the Augustans and the Lokoid through this armistice.
Now the Lokoid along with other nations have created a defense force and sent their own independent civilian researchers to study Tar Yrra in accordance to the provisions provided by the Armistice.
MILITARY
The Lokoid military uses a number of automated units for their ground and naval use. Because of their massive industrial resources, this often means that they can output a large fleet in a matter of days and with the Lokoid birth rate, it is entirely possible to staff new positions quickly with competent Lokoid commanders.
The Lokoid also field manned units and Lokoid infantry for special deployment or even as command elements. These are usually the best of the best in terms of what the military could offer.
The Lokoid military doctrine is a balance between large numbers and adequate quality. They strike heavily at a target to either degrade it or engage in a battle of attrition with self-sufficient mobile factories.
The navy’s job is to combat other opposing navies and provide orbital and aerial support for all combat units. Some special ships like the Annihilator Class Super Dreadnought or the Heirarch Class Battle-Carrier are also considered factory units and can be (but aren’t always) outfitted with modules that allow for taking in scrap, melting it down, and turning it into new fighting units.
Annihilator Class Super Dreadnought Lancer Class Battleship Hive Class Super Carrier Heirarch Class Battle-Carrier Executor Class Battleship
Mauler Class Cruiser Brawler Class Cruiser Hailfire Class Cruiser Antennae Class Destroyer Instigator Class Destroyer Stinger Class Destroyer Dagger Class Destroyer
The army’s job is to conduct ground operations. They are the regulars that fight on the ground. Super heavy units like the Assault and Foundry walkers are meant for high profile ground engagements and are usually only deployed when orbital and aerial superiority is established. The Foundry walker in particular is meant to be a mobile factory that can deploy whole divisions of fully functioning automated units in a few hours. The army, however, is made up of variants of the Multipurpose Modular Automata series of droids, abbreviated as MMA with a mark number denoting series and other series of robotics coupled with only a few manned vehicles.
M.M.A. Mk.1 Standard M.M.A. Mk.3 Standard M.M.A. Mk.3 Fire Support M.M.A. Mk.3 Anti-tank and Anti-Air M.M.A. Mk.3 High-Mobility M.M.A. Mk.3 Melee Pelter Mobile Defense Sentry (P.M.D.S.) Pummeler Heavy Mobile Sentry (P.H.M.S.) Saboteur Drone Series 40 (SDS-40) Ripper (Deployable in swarms via air bomb, orbital, or artillery) Saboteur Drone Series 10 (SDS-10) Ticker (Deployable in swarms via air bomb, orbital, or artillery) Saboteur Drone Series 15 (SDS-15) Swatter (Deployable in swarms via air bomb, orbital, or artillery) Whisper Drone Series 10 (WDS-10) Watcher
Artillery Support Crawler (A.S.C.) Anti-Personnel Assault Crawler (A.P.-A.C.) Anti-Tank Assault Crawler (A.T.-A.C.) Light Armored Stinger Tank Assault Crawler Multiple Launch Missile System (Hits both Aerial and Ground Targets) Heavy Assault Walker Planetary Assault Walker Planetary Foundry Walker
Commando units, the only section of the army that heavily relies on well trained organics. They’re given the special task of being deployed behind enemy lines and causing havoc. They’re deployment is usually preluded with drops of Saboteur Drone Series units or Whisper Drone Series scouts depending on the mission type. Lokoid Commando Unit M.M.A. Mk.2 Terminator Commandos M.M.A. Mk.4 Infitrators
The hunters are a unique and highly specialized mechanized component of the hierarchy and are primarily trained for high risk, high value, deployments often alongside commando units. The hunters use a four legged arachnoid mech that bares the designation “Strider”. The current model of strider is the S-80 and its variations separated into “types”.
The S-80 features multi-directional rolling balls on each leg to facilitate smooth, fast movement on even ground and can transition to fast actuating legs for agile navigation of rough terrain. Alongside this, they have two high velocity wire anchors to overcome verticality and increase mobility in different situations. The fastest recorded time within an S-80 is a little over 150 kilometers per hour and it can attain this speed in any direction. However, it is noted that in simulations the machines were capable of much higher speeds however, practical combat, and terrain navigation trials saw the record speed as the highest practically possible.
They are also able to drive themselves into the ground using piledrivers located on each leg to act as mobile, fast paced, artillery. These pile drivers can also act as secondary or tertiary melee weapons against armored targets such as tanks or opposing mechs.
S-10 Experimental (1st Generation Strider) S-50S Supply Strider Armament: 16x smoke and chaff Houses equipment that facilitates the reloading of S-80 Striders. Chassis based on 5th generation strider. S-80 General Type Armament: Standard length 120mm autoloaded smoothbore, 2x high-frequency blade sub arms, quad smoke and chaff dispensers, 2x wire anchors, and 4x piledrivers S-80 Sniper Type Armament: Long 120mm autoloaded high velocity smoothbore, 2x 50 caliber machine-gun sub arms, 4x smoke and chaff dispensers, 2x wire anchors, and 4x piledrivers S-80 Missile Type Armament: 2x missile pods with ten missiles each, 2x 50 caliber machine-gun sub arms, 4x smoke and chaff dispensers, 2x wire anchors, and 4x piledrivers S-80 Support Type Armament: 40mm auto-cannon with programmable ammo, 2x 50 caliber machine-gun sub arms, 4x smoke and chaff dispensers, 2x wire anchors, and 4x piledrivers
It should be noted that these are the factory standard and hunter units are encouraged to customize their striders to better fit their operational needs. Most hunter units are deployed in squadrons to maximize their tactical flexibility. The auto-loaded smoothbores can also switch between APFSDS, HEAT, and HESH as the auto-loader can switch magazines. However, a strider can only typically carry three magazines at a time and most squadrons opt to have two magazines of APFSDS and one magazine of HEAT as HEAT can deal with most lightly armored targets and have enough explosive potential to knock out light fortifications.
Other shell types are available depending on deployment with some specially selected divisions testing out the highly experimental HEPT-EX or High Explosive Plasma Type Experimental. A shell that encases the components needed for a plasmatic reaction generating excessive amounts of heat upon impact rendering most buildings, vehicles, and equipment unusable. However, the highly volatile nature of the warhead has produced less than stellar results so far.
Changelog:
20/11/2024 5:12 AM -> Changed terminologies for castes. Hailfire reclassified to Cruiser
Names: The Golden Sun, The Consortium, The Syndicate, The Gold Cartels, Reavers, Junkers, Trash Kings
Map Location: The GS is a mostly mobile people flanking the major powers along Tar Yrra's FTL-highways (the map's yellow sectors).
Government Type: Mafia State. The Golden Sun is a Consortium of vagrant fleets ruled by a Syndicate of cartels and oligarchs. Shady deals, bribes, lawfare, and some tactical application of violence every now and again, serve to maintain order. Its five sector bosses, simply known as 'The Five', meet sporadically to settle disputes and coordinate operations. Though infighting between them is common enough, they do keep a united front towards the outside world for their own protection and profit. The Five (listed by their sectors, from left to right on the map) are:
Pa: one of the two non-humans of the Five, this 'Slugg' is valued highly for his far-reaching trade connections.
Shade: the fearsome spymistress of whom nobody knows her true name or history.
Au Rodan: a paranoid who attends meetings only by hologram, but is tolerated due to his well-managed salvaging business.
Merav-Yla: once-princess of a destroyed planet, she has practically appropriated an entire sector for her people.
Duuk Dremal: also known as 'Ironfist', this cyborg Vrunak warlord is The Five's longest sitting member due to his, well, iron fisted rule.
Demographics (approximate):
Ethnic Composition:
65% Baseline-humans / near-humans (i.e. evolved to exotic environments)
30% Xeno-species (a wide variety of non-humans, but mostly Vrunak(-Nek) and some Sluggs (see info-box below))
5% Digital Intelligences (droids and systems at various degrees of specialization and autonomy)
Social Composition:
70% Drifters: Remnants, refugees and outcasts from other civilizations. Drifters usually get by having some private enterprise, through bartering, by vagranting between ships and stations to do odd jobs and labour, or through conscriptions into salvage, smuggling, mercenary, privateering, or blockade- and hazardspace-running crews.
20% Guilders: Those who have joined to work for a Guild-Cartel. Their income is more stable, and they tend to stay at one station for longer periods of time, doing shore-work or on remote postings, but at the cost of becoming more involved with the (more or less) underhanded elements of the Syndicate. Most well-known of these are the Mining and Merchant Guilds.
10% 'Borgs / 'Tekkers: A subculture within the Syndicate of extensive (and expensive) cyber- and biotech augmentation. These are often highly sought after for various high-tech work, for example when it comes to hazardous environments, mechanics and digital systems, and mercenary work at the most extreme.
1% The Inner Syndicate: The 1% elite and ruling class, made up of the wealthiest and most ruthless individuals in the Syndicate and their inner circle. The Five are at the head of these.
Sluggs are a relatively rare, self-centered species which saw opportunity in establishing connections with the Syndicate. Their bodies are run through with their equivalent of brain matter, capable of communicating and controlling their technology through psychic connections. Their psychic ability stems from their evolution on their swamp planet, where they used it to detect hidden dangers and communicate with each other. From youth on they develop extensive psychological mechanisms that allow them to hide or cover-up information and intentions, which protects them against similar psychics. They guard the location of their homeworld almost religiously, and though they are looked upon with distrust, their psychic abilities make them a powerful ally within the Syndicate when it comes to inter-species communication (read: lie detection, interrogation, and hypnotic suggestion). Due to this (and a fair share of nepotism), they are often found in the Syndicate's mid-to-higher ranks.
They do not have a 'proper' or preferred inter-species-name, as their psychic name cannot simply be transmitted between species upon first contact, and often defaults to the concept which they most remind the connectee of. In humanity's case this happened to be simply 'Slug'. The name stuck. Alternative names used within the Syndicate are 'Damn Slug', 'Alien Slug', or 'Alien Scum' (though this, confusingly, is also the name the Sluggs tend to use for other species).
Military (representative, non-exhaustive):
Mercenary Buccaneers: The Syndicate relies on mercenary networks instead of an organized military, and hit-and-run tactics and ambush boarding operations more so than full-frontal warfare. Crews range from the Dread Corsairs (boarding, shock troops) and Blackstars (heavy armor, pilots) to the Ghosts of Axura (stealth, recon) and the Maco Blue-Masks (psychological warfare).
Scavenged Vessels / 'Uglies': the images of the Syndicate that will come to mind for most people are its fleets of roaming 'Uglies', kitbashed ships made from salvage, tributes and bargain buys. Being the public face of the Syndicate, most are designed and done up with various holographics to attract customers for their pleasurables and bazaars of goods and services, more so than for outright piracy.
Cutlass IRD Ships / 'Cutters': sturdy craft originally mass-produced for 'Intercept - Reconnaisance - Defense', but are also often equipped with plasma cutters and tow-harpoons (and unique paintjobs) for mining and salvage.
Mod-barge: Most of the Syndicate's ships are made to be modular in some way. The Mod-barges are the pinnacle of that, capable of being configured into carriers, refineries, weapons platforms, or transports depending on their containerized attachments. Because of this, they may not be as specialized as vessels of the great powers, but they are cheap and numerous, and thus easily replaceable.
Ripperships / 'Rippers': Salvage and mining ships usually crewed by conscripted drifters, equipped with magnetic grapplers, plasma cutters, and boarding craft. Some of these are commandeered by fully independent A.I. which have willingly aligned themselves with the Syndicate for salvage and trade rights (also affectionately known as 'Mechavores').
Disruptor Cruisers: Ships armed with massive electron beams, designed to overload and disable enemy ships' electrical systems to make them easy pickings, or to create an opportunity to escape.
AT-UM's: rugged All-Terrain 'Ugly' vehicles that have been repurposed in various ways, from mobile base units, to temporary starports and refueling stations, mining rigs or troop transports. UM thus definitely stands for 'Utility Mech', and not for 'Ugly M**********r')
FTL-Towable Base Stations: Though there are permanent Syndicate bases and settlements, their arguably most important hubs of action are pack-up-and-go asteroid bases and orbital platforms which are FTL-towable and often strategically positioned near war-torn zones or along the more dangerous trade routes for easy access and interception.
Interdictors: Rare, specialized ships that are basically massive antennae with only one function: to try and force oncoming ships out of FTL by creating noisy turbulences in FTL-spacetime that trick navi-computers into emergency-braking. Due to their high energy demands, they can only fire short bursts before recharging. Usually deployed for fleet protection, shakedowns and ambushes.
Staryachts: The most luxurious fabrications belonging to the Syndicate are these Staryachts, often used by VIP and their organizing members, and equipped to the teeth with the most high-grade defenses.
Cybeasts: predators genetically un-lifted from a (previously) intelligent (possibly Daxini) species. They are often found in animal fighting arenas, but are sometimes also cybernetically augmented and used as remotely mind-controlled guard- and war-dogs.
Info-drones: These probe-drones are often disguised as asteroids and scattered whenever a fleet goes through an area to scan planetary systems, and intercept or jam communications. With these, the Syndicate has developed an intelligence, communications, and subterfuge network that might well rival those of more major players.
History: The Golden Sun, or as they are also known: the Consortium, has a patchwork history, having amalgamated over the centuries from peoples hit by disastrous developments along their star systems, ranging from battles between great civilizations, entire star empires falling, and even hyper-trade lanes collapsing. Like many, the Consortium had humble origins with the Great Fall of Tar Yrra, but every Reclamation War since has added more to their ranks, growing into a civilization of its own. Pirate gangs and organized crime families quickly rose to the top to shape its governing Syndicate, and though most of the Consortium's population (and clientele) gets by well enough without much trouble, things gets shadier the more one rises in rank and profits, and loyalty and betrayal become a matter of life and death. The Syndicate is ruthless in its survival ethos, and never quite stops roaming (for to stay still is to become vulnerable and invite further disaster), and skirts the edges of conflict zones to profiteer off of all sides, engaging in trade and services that may otherwise be frowned upon in their client civilizations, as well as protection racketeering, mining and salvaging in post-battle and hazardous environments (using shell companies that make up most of their 'legal' services), info brokering, bounty-hunting, and -sometimes, with a special price tag to match- special ops. To the Syndicate, Tar Yrra represents a payday of mythic proportions - an actual Treasure Planet - and they are very eager to get in on the action.
[1]: The Five sector bosses of the Golden Sun Syndicate discuss business, including rumours of the Supremites gearing up for war, and how they might use this to gain influence and profits in the affected star systems. Some weeks later, in one of the Pauper Fleets, Rasan Do Csina is drafted into an expedition which, unbeknownst to him, will be sent out to scout along the Supremite warpath under pretense of exploring and envoying for settlement locations.
Government Type: The planets of Halcyon have four distinct governments based on their founding planet in the home system. Colonies of the home system planets retain the government and culture of their founding planet. - Kresta: A Technocracy, they manufacture and trade high tech goods across the Cartel. A collection of appointed directors rule the planets but have no local representation outside of the home system. The only requirement of Kresta colonies is that a tax of wealth and technology be provided to the technocracy. - Magrab: A Manufacturing power house, their home planet has been completely converted into a series of mega forges and manufacturing facilities. The Krivak family owns their planets and has for nearly 100 years. They rule like monarchs and assign governors to rule individual planets and pay tax to the ruling family. -Beitsan: Is a representative monarchy, where the monarch is elected every decade. Taxes are collected for the collective defense of the colonies in the form of wealth or people for the colony defense force. - Emcon: Is a religious monarchy where a King is elected by a senior council of high priests. These monarchs rule for life before being replaced upon their death. A hierarchy of priests rule the planets and send a high priest to vote on their ruler. Every planet it the Cartel appoints a high priest making the election of a new leader a large affair. They Worship memory of the Yrrani and consider them gods.
Demographics: 98% human with a small amount of other alien species. Emcon and its colonies are hostile to alien life.
Military: The only colonies that maintain their own military force is Beitsan. They have a defense pact with the Emcon and contract their soldiers out to Kresta and Magrab. Beitsan forces are very balanced and conventional, employing a combined arms mentality for military strategy. The elite of the Beitsan military is a raiding force of marines.
MV-2/AV-C - A carrier and planet based variant was designed for the Army and Navy. Excellent dual Magrab HS-32 (Chariot) engines propel the craft to dangerous speeds. The "chariot" engines were originally designed for small cutters not strike craft, a Single engine is capable of crossing planetary distances. They are oversized for a carrier or feild based craft, leaving no space for armament.
Carries a complement of 36 strike, CAP and dedicated reconnaissance craft. Affectionately called a "Scoop" due to the hangar bay situated on top of the vessel, this class is the backbone of long range recon patrols across the cartel. These vessels have no offensive armament as "formal" fighting between the nations is strictly forbidden, it instead relies on its small craft to attack and protect itself. The carrier does have multiple VLS cells and fast firing kinetic turrets for self defense but those are a last resort. Ideally, this vessel should be nowhere near any real fighting. Its true strength lies in its suite of detection and surveillance systems paired with its complement of dedicated recon craft. This makes Decimus class vessels excellent surveillance ships and perfectly suited for the type of conflict present in the Halcyon cartel.
The most common style of firearm across the cartel, available to all planetary defense forces and for personal use for registered and qualified civilians. Fires an 8mm round, capable of effective fire out to 800 meters.
A squad level support weapon, capable of sustained laser fire concentrated towards a target. Sized down from a fighters laser cannon, the weapon is relatively rare to see as it is an older weapon out of service with Beitsan forces. The weapon is recognizable for its clicking noise and rocking recoil, as the heavy lenses swap back and forth.
History: The Halcyon system was founded during the Pax Yrranus, and four planets within the habitable zone of its host star were colonized. These planets were devastated by the galactic war and after the Great Fall lost contact with one another completely. A Technology regression occurred and the system collapsed in the anarchy. New societies emerged around the technologies that were found and slowly regained control over their home planets. When these societies tried to expand beyond their planet another conflict was fought over control of the system between the planets. After ten years of war a peace agreement was reached between the planets. Expansion in the home system was forbidden but was encouraged outside of the system and any habitable planets found and colonized are considered the sovereign territory of the colonizers. Over 200 years later peace has endured and thriving economy has developed between the colonies. In the current era, peace remains but relationships may be strained between the colonies and long and mostly bloodless cold war of subterfuge and theft is being fought over the control of technology and knowledge.
(More will be added to history as things happen in the story)
An offshoot of the Yrrani, the Twei are an ethnic minority that are most easily distinguished by the fact that they have longer ears. They are usually fair skinned, pale even, but can be darker skinned, often as the result of cross breeding with humans. Much like their cousins, the Twei are blessed with longevity, general physiological resilience, unnatural beauty as well as graceful aging, and generally keen minds. They are also noted as possessing great spacial awareness and reflexes, both of which are often further enhanced by cybernetics.
